Farewell Vermilion
by Kae Aleah
Summary: (Based off of 2001 Hellsing anime) Anna, our lovely red vampire is back again. Its been 500 years worth of unquestionable loyalty that she has for her lover, Alucard. It wasn't easy though. For Anna has a past she wishes to forget and burn to the ground so she wouldn't feel the shame that came from her time long ago as a newborn vampire. Still, the past has returned to bite her.
1. Red Flames Of A Burning Witch

**RED FLAMES OF A BURNING WITCH **

"Burn the witch! Burn her! Burn her!"

They screamed. Oh, how they chanted those words till their faces turned a bright vibrant shade of red. They pumped their fists up in the smoldering air and watched as they forcefully tied this beautiful woman up to a stake. Their hearts were anxious, beating erratically in their chest as this woman gazed upon the crowd with a heavily somber look on her face. She was gracefully unphased despite having to have been soaked to the bone in blood. It wasn't her own blood though, but the blood of her lover that she had to forcefully watch be executed only moments ago.

The very last memory of him burned itself into her mind. She could recall his eyes and how they gazed upon her like she was a goddess until the very last second. The beautiful woman could feel his burning devotion for her until his life finally came to an abrupt end by the heavy axe of the executioner, taking his head off in one swing. The instant his hot blood splattered on her skin was the last sensation she had ever felt. She watched as the light faded from his eyes, moments later melting her heart until nothing was left. She felt nothing now. It was an empty feeling inside her body. Totally hollow. That moment was another memory she pleads to forget. She cried and screamed to the damned gods who were no longer listening to her prayers.

"What are you waiting for! Burn her!" They all continued to chant for her soon demise. "Burn the witch!"

Their words sounded distant to her now, like someone was shouting from miles and miles away. The only thing that was on her mind though was him. The Count. He must've been worried sick about what they were going to do to her after he was gone. She was glad though. Happy to some extent that he wouldn't have to see her become a candle. A candle that will only last a single night. And oh, what a beautiful night it was. The perfect night. The last night.

The beautiful woman lifted her silvery-gray eyes up to the sky as the cool air tickled her face. The world was beautiful and shinned like millions of diamonds, glistening a pure shade of stark white that danced across the darkly blue night. The moon hung high as well and reflected upon her skin, making it glow like she was made of ivory.

Soon, she began to feel the scorching hot sensation of a burning torch getting closer to the stack of wood and dried grass. Any moment now she will become a candle, and you know what...? For her beloved...she will remain to be beautiful even if she had to turn into a smoldering statue of ash.

For some reason now...being consumed by flames didn't feel as bad to her anymore. And with that, she will finally be reunited with the man she loved with all her heart. To feel his warm arms wrap tightly in either hell or heaven. She didn't care where she ended up at...as long as she was with him.

With a final breath out into the cool air, she waited patiently for her time to come. "My love...let us meet again if the gods will allow it," she spoke with a voice like a melody.

The cracking of wood began and the chanting became louder. Flames rose from beneath and coiled around her body like a cloak, setting her silky blonde hair and splattered white dress aflame. The harsh wind began to pick up and made the fire become unstable, causing a blistering scream to belt out from the woman's lungs as she was burned alive. She never once lost her grace though...and along with the raging wind, the fire only added to her appeal, making her seem divine within the flames. Her golden hair, now a bright shade of vermilion resembled a candle's flame, while her ivory skin and white dress were made of wax, soon charing to a gritty black.

She fought back her screeches of pain as the flames clouded her vision and almost burned her eyes right out of her head, but through their haze...she saw something began to swarm in the back of the crowd who remained oblivious to what was going on. It was hard to make out but it almost appeared as it was a black hoard of screeching bats. Red eyes penetrated the darkness through a new type of chanting began, but they weren't chanting...they were screaming. Body parts, organs, and blood sprayed the air as the screaming became less and less...until the sweet sound of silence was finally granted to her.

The woman could no longer feel the pain of the fire as all her senses were burned away, and as her eyes slowly started to close...she watched as those gorgeous red eyes got closer and closer to her, making her dead heart flutter once more.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I guess you can consider this a somewhat late Chrismas present from me!**

**Hello and welcome back to the final installment of Anna's story. Made you wait, didn't I? Well, don't worry. I had a lot of brainstorming episodes and I know what I'm going to do with this story. I'm also going to be covering quite a bit of Anna's backstory since the original serious still kinda surrounded her in mystory. I'm excited to show you what's going to happen in this story, as well as seeing Anna and Alucard's relationship for the last time.**

**And don't worry. I will be changing a lot from the original story to keep you entertained until Incognito is introduced and show more of Anna's personality...as well as a deeper and more buried side to her. **

**Let me know if you're excited for the final book in Anna's journey. **


	2. A Bond As Thick As Red Blood

**A BOND AS THICK AS RED BLOOD**

The room was dark as a thick red mist spilled out from the vents and filled the empty space. It resembled poisonous gas with the way it looked but didn't act like it. It flowed and conjured up into one corner of the room just as the front door opened and a man and woman walked through.

"Please, come in." The man was elderly looking with his white hair and had thick-framed glasses that hung on the edge of his thin nose. He looked to be in his late 50's to early '60s compared to the woman who walked in with him. She was beautiful with pale-ish gray skin, raven black hair that was long and shiny, and bangs that covered her eyes. "You don't want another drink?"

The woman said nothing and dropped her coat to the ground, revealing her beauty that was fastened to a skin-tight black dress that showed off all her curves.

The old man's eyes became hungry and lustful. "Your looks make me want to drop down to my knees, caress your legs and prove how much I admire beauty such as yours." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I lack the youth to do that. Still, I was fortunate to meet you at the party. I knew you were the kind of person who could share my new type of pleasure." He gestured to the lights. "Do you mind? I find the dark more liberate." He cut the lights off so the God above wouldn't see their shameful acts. It was only for the devil's eyes. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. "I can feel your beauty very well, just like this." He entranced himself in her sweet ecstasy when he caught sight of the same red mist that covered the corner of the room, a figure soon becoming visible in it. "Who's there?" He alarmingly called out.

The red mist was absorbed inside a tall framed woman who finally became noticeable. She wore a floor-length white dress with long sleeves, a black slash and simple black pumps the peeked out from underneath her gown. Her hair was a pale blonde color that was long enough to drape across the ground like a golden waterfall, and with pale skin that looked like it was made of white marble.

"I'm sorry..." She lifted her head and stared at them with a disheartened expression. Her face was adorned with soft doll light features along with piercing scarlet eyes that glowed in the dark. "Truly, I am. You really are a beautiful woman."

Strands of her hair began to float in the air before suddenly latching ahold of the woman's body and shoving the man aside. The strands began to tighten around her skin until the fabric of her dress started to rip. It sliced right through her and before her body could drop, she flashes her stunning emerald eyes, befalling into ruins on the ground into nothing but ash.

The man collapsed to the floor and stared at the collection of ash and spoke with a trembling voice, his face turning pale. "V-Vampire?" He looked back up to where the woman was and saw that she was gone.

* * *

The policewoman's chest burned hot and heavy while running through the dark and thick woods of Cheddar village. She swore she was losing her mind because her men, her friends, they were dead but now...they were walking and trying to attack her with their rotten and gray hands the latched out at her. She had no other alternative but to flee deeper into the forest.

This can't be real. She pleaded, but despite her denial, she had no choice but to reload her pistol and pray it was a bad dream to wake up from. "I didn't join...D-11 to do this." Her lips quivered and she dropped her head to the ground. "I...I..." She continued to stare until she saw the hem of a white dress with a large black shadow casting over her. The policewomen whipped her head up and aimed her gun up at the imposing figure, only to have her breath taken away.

The cool night air picked up and blew the woman's long blonde hair in front of her face. The bright red moon stood at her back and obscured her scarlet eyes and shocked expression for a moment until the light glided over the side of her body, unveiling a beautiful woman that looked as if she just stepped out from a fairytale book, with looks as extraordinary as hers. Ivory skin, long white dress, blonde hair that just barely reached the ground, and scarlet eyes that were made of glimmering ruby gems.

The woman's pale pink lips melted into a warm smile. "Evening," she greeted her with a voice that sounded so very pleasant to her ears.

The policewoman got over the sudden shock and lowered her gun when she realized that she was pointing it an innocent woman. "I'm...I'm sorry. I...I thought you were..." she stuttered out her words and had to take a moment to breathe and calm herself down.

"Dead?" The woman answered with her poetic voice with a topic that sounded to morbid to even speak with.

This disturbed the young girl for a bit as the shakes began. "That...how?" She was speechless.

The fairytale lady looked at the policewoman and rested her hand against her chin, studying her up and down. "You...are quite the cute one, Miss." She smiled once again.

The policewoman's face blushed a vibrant rouge color from the sudden compliment. It felt out of place compared to the woman in front of her though. "Who...are you?"

The woman looked around and scanned her eyes over the dark lands. "Anna. That's the name I use now. I guess you can say...I'm the first responder." She turned around and started to walk deeper into the red and black night. "It appears I got here before my beloved...so I have time to spare before he arrives."

"Love? Wait a moment!" The policewoman ran to catch up to Anna and walk beside her.

Anna stared down at the woman. "It's not safe for you right now, my dear. It would be best if you pull out now while you still have the chance."

The policewomen cocked her pistol and held it up beside her. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Anna. You're defenseless. I cannot just let you go off on your own."

The woman stopped mid-stride and stared at the young policewoman, blinking with her large and curious red eyes that glittered. Slowly a smile slid to her almost pale lips. "Well...now that is quite an adoring trait."

The policewoman flinched when she felt Anna's cold hand reach up and pat her hair softly. She was very delicate in this soothing gesture and made a flush of pinkness rise up in the policewoman's face. "I-it's just my duty to protect someone who is defenseless!"

"Hmm?" Anna hummed and pulled her hand away. She glanced over her shoulder and looked around the thick woods, eyes piercing through the darkness. Within the gloom, she could see dark shadows moving around quite clumsily as they got closer and closer. Anna stayed beside herself and kept her outer expression very calm to not startle the young policewoman. It wouldn't be long now until the ghouls would emerge from the darkness and totally surround them, and Anna honestly didn't have the time to deal with such a hoard right now. "Well, if you wish to keep moving then now would be the best time," she said and continued on her way.

"W-wait for a minute!" the policewoman ran to catch up.

The red moon acted like a beacon that led them through the woods and into an opening. It old graveyard by the looks of it that had a church right in the center. This discovery didn't sit well with Anna though and she pondered if her target was even in there or not. The files said he was dressing up and acting like a priest so this would be a good start, but...she never did like going into churches. Just the overall atmosphere of them sent shivers down her spine like millions of eyes were on her, judging her, discouraging her.

God's judgment was definitely working hard whenever she had to go inside a church.

The policewoman though didn't see the harm in going inside, so Anna's hesitation puzzled her. "Are you not religious?"

Anna shrugged. "Well...I do believe in God. I just don't think he's so overly fond of me though." Her poetic voice turned bitter. "I don't fancy judgmental eyes."

"There could be something inside, you know. Something dangerous."

"Ah, yes. That's the point of the matter and that's the exact reason why I have to go inside," she said, her lips turning down into a frown. Anna than noticed what looked to be a faint candlelight glow coming from inside. "Someone's in there," she said.

"What?" The policewoman turned back and tried to see something through the dark windows. "I don't see anything though."

"It was a faint orange glow, like candlelight of some sort." Anna lifted her long white finger up to her mouth and pressed against them for a moment like she was thinking. "Well...I don't see any other options right now." A deep sigh left from her lips as she carried on walking through the rows of old gravestones, the policewoman following close behind.

Anna slid her hand across the wooden entrance and pushed it open with ease. Naturally, it was unlocked but before fully seeing inside she noticed that there were no heartbeats thumping against her sharp eardrums, but there were footsteps wandering within. No was inside. No one alive, that is.

The inside was small and simple, nothing extravagant at all. The inside was only lit up by candlelight though so it made it very difficult to see. Anna could see everything just fine, but the policewoman fund it a bit hard. She held her gun out in front of her and traced the room with her eyes until they landed on a dark figure standing in the corner of the room. His face was shrouded in darkness until he finally stepped out into the light. The girls could see now that it was a man dressed as a priest. They both stood still and gave the man an eerie look since something wasn't quite right about him.

"The church always opens its doors to people in distress." the man said humbly and stepped up to them, smiling.

Anna opened her mouth and spoke to him rather politely. "Oh? Unfortunately, I think the doors are only open to those who still carry a heartbeat. Am I wrong?"

The priest blinked and stared at Anna, a bit started from her youthful and foreign appearance. He couldn't mistake those eyes though. Eyes that looked like they were bathed in blood. Absolutely gorgeous and hypnotizing. "I am not the one to judge who walks through those doors. I'm merely a person who gives guidance to the weak."

This unnerving man caused the policewoman's hands to tremble a bit. "I'm on a mission...and the most likely suspect would be..." She honestly didn't know what to think anymore. Something about him was upsetting her, but his outer appearance looked ordinary in her eyes. "But you're normal."

"People like him and I are different from the ghouls you encountered outside," Anna spoke, crossing her arms over her chest.

The policewoman paused and had to take another look at Anna. "Like...you?" Only now did she truly felt like she was looking at her appearance entierly and suddenly being struck with this feeling of anxiety that ripped through her body like lightning, igniting every one of her nerves on fire. "Miss...Anna?" Her words fell short through when her mind suddenly started to become muddled and confused. Time seemed to slow down as she struggled to keep her eyes open as sleepiness started to kick in. Her body moved on its own and she was pulled forward right towards the suspicious priest that grew more and more inhuman by the minute.

Anna cocked a brow and tilted her head to the side. "That was quite a rude trick," she said smoothly despite the obvious danger the policewoman was in. All it took was one bite and suck for her nineteen year old life to end, vanish in the blink of an eye like she was nothing but a candle in the wind. "Have you no shame?"

The priest smirked at the lady. "Well...I just had an idea so I needed leverage," he informed her but Anna didn't look the slightest bit interested.

"Leverage, you say?" Anna asked out of politeness and took a step towards him but the moment she lifted her leg his voice dropped in pitch.

"Ah, ah. Don't move." He wrapped his long finger-like claws around the policewoman's neck and squeezed very slightly. The threat was enough for Anna to stop though. You don't want this innocent girl to be turned into a ghoul, now don't you?" The shift in her ruby gaze was very subtle but he, unfortunately, noticed it. "Now that's a surprise," he said with a short laugh. "A vampire carrying for a human?"

"An innocent human." Anna corrected. "The poor dear was just unfortunate enough to be dragged into this bloody mess."

"It doesn't have to be a bloody mess." He stared at her, burning his gaze right into her very soul to try and find any kind of secret he could use against her. "You're old...I can tell that by the way you talk and carry yourself. It must be lonely...being alive for this long. How about we make a deal. You can join me...and I'll let this one go free." he offered.

The woman remained quiet before a smile fell to her face. It made the priest's veins ignite and burn with a desire the longer he stared at this woman. Oh...he wanted her. He wanted to touch her skin, and feel his hands through her hair...and wanted to know if her blood was as sweet as her smile. Something was amiss though within his fantasies because he couldn't imagine those desires. He can't picture this woman anywhere in his head because it was blocked by a large and dark shadow, having eyes resembling her own ruby ones.

"I'm so terribly sorry." Anna's voice broke him out of his trance. "It's a tempting offer, it really is, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you down." She stared at him, smiling until her scarlet eyes started to glow.

All the air suddenly felt like it was sucked forcefully from his lungs when his body stiffened and turned to ice. He couldn't move aside from the occasional twitching of his fingers. The priest remained locked in place as Anna began to walk towards him once more. Sweat rolled down his face and his skin started to crawl as fear entered his bloodstream.

He then noticed that her shadow grew in size and only now did he recognize that it wasn't in her shape at all. It was wider and taller than hers and had the outline of a broad-shouldered man wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

It was the same shadow he witnessed in his own mind.

He began to sweat profusely as this woman got closer and closer to him, her eyes still glowing and piercing through the darkness and straight through to his heart. His own body began to throb with anxiety as the trembling began. He was going to die. The priest just knew it because this woman didn't feel like a normal vampire. She was older than him and stronger, much stronger, but that wasn't only it...something lurked within her shadow. He could see red eyes slowly open up on the ground and stared wildly at him.

He began to feel his finger switch though and with much heists, he snapped them. Upon his command, rows upon rows of ghouls stood up from the pews and aimed their guns at Anna. "K...Kill her."

Anna's eyes grew wide when flashes of white light filled the room, drowning out the morbid silence and darkness of the church. The loud popping sounds from their automatics made her ears ring and it left her disoriented by just the sure force. Anna remained unharmed though when a rupture of darkness burst up from her shadow and coiled around her body, shielding her from the barrage of bullets that couldn't penetrate the strange dark mass.

The priest was stunned into muteness as the dark matter melted away from the lady's body and conjured on the ground behind her. It rose up from the floor and began to take the shape of a tall, broad-shouldered man who made Anna's frame look small and weak. He wrapped his arms around her when the shadows finally morphed into a humanoid figure. His face was pale like Anna's but his hair was raven black, and his crimson eyes were covered by red-tinted sunglasses that blocked out the sides. He had on a long overcoat made of dark crimson fabric the collided ominously against the red moon overhead, a dark black suit with a red tie, and leather riding boots that stomped heavily against the earth.

When this man talked his voice made Anna's heart jolt a bit. "Evening, Anna."

She leaned her head back into his chest and looked up at him, seeing him smirking down at her with this type of grin that made Anna melt. "Evening, my love," she spoke with a smile.

The priest scoffed and raised his voice. "Who the hell are you?"

Alucard's smirk only widened. "My name is Alucard. my dear Anna and I are merely tools of the special operations agency, Hellsing." He lifted his white-gloved hand that had a seal on it and pressed it on top of Anna's hair, running his long fingers through her locks. "We dispose of garbage."

"Garbage? Huh! Special operations agency?! Have you lost your mind?"

Alucard's deep chuckle resonated off the walls in the church and made the priest shiver. "Me? Have I lost my mind?" He released his lover and began to walk towards the man, stomping his feet hard against the carpet." What do you think you're doing? You say I'm insane but you also had quite the crude imagination towards my Anna. That's what makes you trash."

The priest clicked his tongue. "You can die now! Both you and that witch of a woman."

The ghouls took aim once more. Alucard reached into his coat and gripped ahold of something. He then started to pull out a silver pistol that had an abnormally long barrel. Words were etched in on the side of it that said, '_Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto'._

He took his gun and pointed it behind his head and pulled the trigger. Large bullets shot out from the barrel and punctured right through the ghoul army and leaving large holes behind. It was a pull after another until the walking and mindless puppets were reduced to nothing but ash.

The policewoman stared with wide eyes. "They're not human," she said weakly while still behind held in the demented clutches of this vampire.

The vampire priest was at a lost for words as he watched his army being put down by this dangerous man. "Why...? Why're both vampires!"

Alucard dropped a smoking magazine at his feet and reloaded another one into his pistol. "You instant vampires are cockroaches. Multiplying before you know it." He cocked the slide back with his sharp fangs that peeked out from his lips. "I can't stand your kind...half-assed vampire without the slightest bit of self-respect! You don't even know what you are! We have our reasons for serving humans." he balanced his weapon on his forearm. "But, of course, it's not a story for trash like you. A silver cross from the Great Lanchester Church was melted down to cast the 13mm explosive rounds in this gun. So relax...and go to heaven, forever!"

The priest quickly tightened his grip around the policewoman's neck and used her as a human meat shield, actually lifted her off the ground a bit.

Anna gasped sharply and ran to Alucard and forcefully lowered his gun arm. "Wait!" she pleaded with him. "She's the only survivor."

Alucard stared down at his lover and saw the panic rise up in her eyes.

The priest quickly spoke when he saw a weakness in Anna's character. "I know you can't shoot her. You're servants of the humans." he laughed.

Anna gritted her sharp inhuman teeth when Alucard's deep voice grabbed her attention. "Will you take responsibility for what will happen, Anna?" he asked her rather softly, staring in her eyes when she looked back up at him.

Anna's face contorted a bit. She bit down on her lips and had to look away to think for a minute. Her doll light features became disheartened before slowly...she nodded her head and spoke her answer to him if a weak and small voice. "Yes..." she released her hand from his forearm and backed away.

Alucard's lips turned up into an entertained smirk. "Oh? Now that's quite a turn, my dear Anna."

"Alucard, please," Anna said once more.

He chuckled and turned back to the vampire and policewoman. "Police Girl." he addressed her, holding his her gaze with his own.

"Yes," she answered back calmly.

"I'm going to shoot you in the lung. The bullet will pass through you to hit the trash vampire in the heart! You don't want to die now, do you? Do you want to come with us?"

The vampire priest began to shake a bit and anxiously looked down at the policewoman.

Alucard continued. "No one will force you. The choice is yours. Answer!"

Anna intertwined her fingers together and held them under her chin, waiting with a shaking and anxious heart for the policewoman's answer. She just needed to know with one word. One single word to make her move and the change. "Please answer," she said softly to the young woman.

"Yes." And with that...the policewoman peacefully closed her eyes and waited.

BANG!

The shot ripped out from the gun and the candles blew out. The bullet soared through the air and finally pierced the woman, leaving a big hole in her chest but also hit the vampire hiding behind her. He blasted back against the wall behind him and cried out as he was reduced to ash, once and for all.

The woman didn't even have the time to hit the floor before a pair of long white arms reached out and cradled her fall. Her head was held close to the soft and silky fabric of Anna's white dress and with her hazy eyes, she could still easily make out the woman's concerned ruby gaze.

Anna's lips trembled as she felt the woman's body grew heavy as warm blood flowed out of her and stain her dress. The smell made her nose turn up and stomach twist.

Blood...for a vampire, the smell just utterly made Anna sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry." Anna apologized a thousand times as the policewoman's blue eyes stared up at her, helpless, just like she was right now.

Alucard's heavy footsteps came up from behind them. "You said you would take responsibility." he reminded her.

Anna felt his strong hand press against her shoulder. "I know...I know." she brushed the woman's hair aside to get a good view of her neck.

Anna looked up at the last candle in the church and watched it as it slowly went out, leaving a small trail of smoke behind.

* * *

Integra waited at the end of the street of Chedder village with a hoard of Hellsing men behind her with flashing blue and red lights. She watched as two figures slowly came into view. It was Anna and Alucard. Alucard was carrying the policewoman his arms who was wrapped up in a blanket.

It would've been a good thing that they came back, which means that the mission was complete, but the discouraged look in Anna's eyes told her differently.

Alucard stopped in front of Integra. "Mission complete," he said in his smoldering deep voice. "All targets activity has ceased. The limited power released is completed."

"Despite there being two of you...you spend too much time for just one target." Integra eyed them both before shifting her focus to the policewoman. "I'll call for rescue." She turned to walk away but Anna called back to her.

"No," she said. "I wish for you to transfer this woman to the Hellsing Organization."

Integra looked over her shoulder and narrowed her gaze at Anna but made sure to get confirmation from the policewoman first, which she got a small nod from. "You don't make decisions."

Anna shook her head and stared sharply into Integra's eyes. "I don't...If I did then I wouldn't have been burned alive 500 years ago...when I was still human." her voice was bitter from the awful memories. "But this girl...she was in control...and she made the choice all on her own."

Integra scoffed and turned away from them. "It's time for the Hellsing Organization to withdraw," she ordered as all the vehicles and helicopters began to take off and leave the sight of Chedder village.

The policewoman glanced towards Anna and opened her mouth to speak. "Ah, uh..." she couldn't get the chance to say anything to her though before Anna turned on her heel and began to head into the forest, somewhat melting into the darkness. "Mis...tress?" she choked up just in time for the beautiful vampire to stop.

Anna was half shaded in the dark when she turned around to face the policewoman. Smiling very slightly at her, she said. "Miss Anna is fine with me." And with that...she disappeared into the thick lush of the forest.


	3. Red Letters

**RED LETTERS**

It smelled sweet, like it was an early morning in a small tranquil village, right outside a bakery that had just finished baking its fresh bread for the day. It comforted Seras while she remained deep in her slumber, entranced in the smell, completely alone in the dark but not afraid. Something changed in the fragrance though and the fresh and sweet delight scent faded away. Now, there was this raw and gravelly stench that could only be described as earthy. Completely engulfing her senses.

It smelled like iron.

It smelled of blood!

Seras's red-hot eyes shot open and she got up from the couch in an instant. Her heart rattled and vibrated in her chest when she came to the realization that she wasn't in danger. The room she was in though was quite small and rather empty too. It was nothing but a four-wall room that was underground and with what looked to be a coffin lying in the middle of the room.

In her mind, coffins are supposed to be filled with dread with nothing comforting about them. It was the mark of someone's last slumber. But this coffin, on the other hand, had an appeal about it. It looked like it was made of pure crimson marble. The front part of the lid had a cross engraved in it with what looked to be made out of rose vines. Strangely though, Seras actually found it to be quite beautiful.

She placed her hand over her heart and took a breath to calm herself. "What is a coffin doing here?"

"Because it is my room." Startled to the sudden sound of a soft voice, Seras whipped her head around and saw Anna sitting at a desk, writing on a piece of paper with a quill pen. "Mistress?" Seras gasped a bit and quickly corrected herself. "I-I mean Miss Anna?"

Anna blinked and turned her head towards her before her lips curved up into a smile. Soft chuckles escaped from her mouth. "Good morning. Or perhaps I should say_ good night_. It is midnight after all."

Seras cracked an awkward smile before her lips fell entirely, remembering the smell that was still perfuming the room. The smell and its source. She saw that it came from a cup on the desk that was half-filled with a thick red liquid. Seras felt her throat dry up in that instant she saw it as this deep hungry came rising up.

Anna must've noticed immediately and softened her scarlet gaze. "I'm sorry. Is it bothering you?" She raised her hand and pressed her snow-white fingers together and snapped them. The cup of blood immediately was set ablaze. The blood sizzled and began to fade away until nothing remained, and only then did the flames disappear.

Seras became astonished at the sight and got up from the couch to get a better look. She watched with curious eyes as the flames turned into smoke. "H-How did you do that?" She kneeled down beside Anna and stared at the cup. She picked it up and was expecting it to melt right in her hand, but it didn't. It was only slightly warm. There wasn't even a single trace of scorching at all on the glasswork. "You just...all you did was snap your fingers."

Anna could only laugh at Seras's curious nature, it reminded her of a child. "Sometimes when people have a strong connection to things in life...they carry it over in the second one. It can be manifested in some way or form." Her voice was crystal clear and that was the problem. Seras picked up that there was a trace of bitterness in Anna's voice.

"Miss Anna..." Seras hesitated to speak, getting back to her feet. She was going to ask one question, but as she watched Anna fold up the piece of paper, another one came out instead. The words in the letter were colored red...and she had a glass of blood beside her. "Miss Anna? Were you writing with blood?" Just saying that made her body cringe.

Anna stopped midway from putting the paper in a white envelope. "Not just any blood. It was my own blood, Seras." She finished sealing the letter with a wax seal and set it aside to dry. "It's nothing to worry about. I just like to write letters. That's all."

Seras arched a brow. "Letters? To who?" She said that but knew the answer before Anna could even speak it. "Are you writing letters to Master?"

Anna confirmed with a slight nod of her head. She peered up at her from under her lashes. "It's just an old hobby of mine. Funny enough, I never let him read them though and he constantly pesters me about them." She laughed to herself and gave this sugar-sweet smile.

"If they're addressed to him, then why won't you let him read them?" Seras was thoroughly confused about this but also rather curious at the same time. It was sweet really, to think that despite how close Anna and Alucard were, she would still write heartfelt letters to him.

Anna scooted back from her chair and rested her hands on her lap. "It's like this. It's like giving someone a Christmas card in the middle of October."

She pondered on that for a bit. "So...it's not the right time then?"

Anna nodded. She grabbed the letter from off the desk and got down on her knees to a chest below it. She unhooked the lock and the large lid creaked open for her to put it in. Seras only saw a glimpse of at least 50 or more letters inside before closing it.

The meaning behind the letters was none of her business so she made it an effort to keep her mouth shut, but one thing lingered in the back of her mind...a question remained unanswered.

* * *

_Anna shook her head and stared sharply into Integra's eyes. "I don't...If I did then I wouldn't have been burned alive 500 years ago...when I was still human." her voice was bitter from the awful memories. "But this girl...she was in control...and she made the choice all on her own."_

* * *

It was like Anna's words were haunting her, mocking her with this unknown. Whenever she looked at her, she was met with this mysterious barricade and understood...that Seras really didn't know a single thing about Anna. She wouldn't even begin to understand what she might've gone through in the past and what it felt like to be burned alive. To have your skin scorched right off your bones and eyeballs melt from your head. God, just thinking about it made Seras sick to her stomach.

When she was human she was burned alive? For what reason? Why must this beautiful and kind woman be condemned to such a fate? Would Anna even answer her questions if she asked? Is she even allowed to know anything about the woman who gave her a second life?

* * *

The cover of darkness rained overhead but Anna could still see the vampire woman down toward the streets, lurking quietly in an alleyway that was right outside a theater, watching motionlessly as a human woman and man stepped outside and immediately took notice of the strange woman in the alley.

Anna kneeled down beside Seras while she prepared her rifle. Putting it together with as much hast as she could, but not fast enough. "You're going to have to be a bit faster if you want to stop people from getting hurt." She frowned sadly.

Seras' training instructor, Fargason counted the seconds it took her to put everything together. "You took 7.5 seconds to set up the gunstock!" He reminded and Seras groaned a bit under her breath.

She grumbled awkwardly and peered up at Anna for some kind of support and got it in the form of a confident smile.

"She's down by the alleyway." Anna pointed her slender white finger down at the streets.

Seras grabbed her scope and was about to put it on but Anna grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"You won't need that," she said.

"But..."

"You're eyes are different know, like mine. You won't need it." That was all the explanation she was given.

Seras bit down on her lips and gazed down the barrel of her weapon. It was dark but Anna was right, her eyes adjusted greatly to the gloom and were able to see the vampire suddenly attack the woman, grabbing a hold of her legs and bringing them to the floor. They screamed out for help as the vampire kept a strong grip on the poor woman's ankles.

"It approached civilians!" Seras felt her finger twitch while hovering over the trigger.

"In the name of God...we shall strike the damned undead with the eternal iron stake. Amen." Fargason crossed his arms over his chest. "Fire!" He took a glance at Anna, who stood eagerly over the edge in case anything went wrong. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded her head.

Seras didn't move though and only took the next few seconds of her time breathing heavily, fingers twitching with anxiety and uneasiness. Why was she hesitating? She could see the danger the woman and man were in, so...why couldn't she pull the trigger?"

Fargason waited another five seconds and knew that Seras wasn't going to fire. He turned to Anna but the woman had already dropped off the edge of the building.

She descended fast as her white dress and blonde hair fluttered around her. She saw with her keen eyes as the woman using all her strength to try and keep the ravenous vampire off her, pushing her shoulders back. Anna's fingers reached out in front of her right as she landed and drove her whole hand straight through the vampire's chest, smashing her heart under her fingers. Killing her in a solid and silent instant. No muss, no fuss, no harm.

As the body fell to the side, blood fell on the woman's face and tainted Anna's once beautiful white dress with crimson. Breathless and still terrified, she wasn't even sure if she was safe now with the wild look Anna had within her own ruby gaze.

It didn't take long after that for Hellsing troops to storm the small area outside the theater. They wrapped up the body of the vampire and pulled the stunned man and equally terrified woman away in cars to be treated and question for what they just witness.

"Mission completed," Fargason announced. "Target silenced by 'Anna'. We are cleaning up the crime scene now." He stepped to the side as Anna leaped back onto the rooftop. "As always, we appreciate your work, Anna." he thanked.

Anna waved her hand and smiled as she usually did, but it seemed a bit off with the way she appeared right now. Being covered in blood and all. "Oh, don't worry about it."

Seras sat quietly and disheartened by her inability to pull the trigger. She couldn't even look Anna in the eyes when the woman sat down beside her, taking the weapon from her arms. "Sorry, Miss Anna."

Naturally, Anna wasn't mad or even looked annoyed. She just stared sadly at Seras and ran her hand up her back, speaking softly as she did. "I can't say I'm surprised that you didn't pull the trigger, Seras. I understand that all this is a great change for you, and it is going to take some time to adjust."

Her sincerity felt comforting and Seras was glad to know that Anna wasn't the type of person to raise her voice or get angry. She honestly couldn't even imagine her doing so at all. Her soft and velvety words were spell-bounding, casting some sort of curse of some sort to keep her calm.

* * *

Seras followed close behind Anna and kept a sharp eye on her back as they walked deeper and deeper into the basement of the Hellsing organization. She's already been down here once before and has seen Anna's room, but she can't shake the sensation that it felt like she was walking through the Catacombs. The stone walls were cold and the darkness just seems to stretch out for miles and miles.

"Ah, Miss Anna?" Seras hesitated.

"Hm?"

"Where are we going?"

Anna looked over her shoulder. "You'll see. It's a surprise."

She felt like she should be excited, but going so far underground with only those words to comfort her felt like a recipe for disaster. Seras pushed it to the back of her mind though because Anna didn't come across like an ominous person.

They finally stopped though in front of a door and opened it. It was a room very similar to Anna's, except there was no coffin in the middle of the floor. There was a table with a chair and a rather large bed inside too. There was no natural light though since they were underground, unfortunately. Aside from that, it was rather nice.

An elderly man stood in the middle of the room and bowed his head when he saw Anna and Seras walk in. "It's good to see you, Anna. I see you've brought Ms. Victoria with you."

Anna smiled. "Hello, Walter." She glanced back to Seras and pointed to the elderly man. "Seras, this is Walter. Aside from myself, he was also ordered by Sir Integra to take care of you."

Seras hesitated a bit and couldn't help but squirm in her own skin that just felt tight and uncomfortable now. "Miss Anna. Am I hard to deal with?" It was a silly thought to think that of herself but this idea just kept creeping to the back of her head. Why the secrecy? Why must she stay below grounds? Was it because she failed her first mission?

A saddened gaze fluttered across Anna's ruby eyes. "Hard to deal with?" She repeated Seras's question, overlapping her fingers together to think about it for a moment. "Well, you yourself are not difficult. But taking into consideration that there is more than just two vampires in Hellsing now is a different change for us." Her lips moved up into a half-smile, not totally reaching her ears. "The main concern really is that you won't be able to use silver tableware."

Seras laughed awkwardly, now realizing that she might've made the tension in the room bubble a bit. "Well, I never used silverware before anyway, so that's not a problem." She only received a puzzled look from Anna and Walter. "I mean..." She frowned at first before deciding to just listen to what they had to say.

"If I may," Walter began. "I also recommend not going out in the daytime."

Anna took Seras by her shoulders and pulled her into the room so she could have a look around herself. "Alucard and I sleep in the middle of the day, so it would be best if you do the same. It won't kill you if you go outside during the day, but it will drain you and make you a bit sleepy."

"Ah." Seras nodded and glanced at the bed, a childish spark flashing into her eyes. She smiled and sat down on her. "I dreamed of sleeping on a bed like this when I was a child!" her voice was light and airy, making Anna smile in response. This may be the first time she actually saw Seras smile, and it really did ease Anna's heart to see it.

Both Anna and Seras sat down on the bed and laid next to each other. Seras felt her hand brush against the remote beside her and accidentally pressed a button, making the top board of the bed slowly lower down.

Seras jumped a bit when she also felt the bed lower too. "It's moving? Miss Anna, what is this?" She looked over to her and saw Anna's smile, moments before the board closed down on the two of them.

Anna's voice echoed out from underneath. "As is appears...it is a coffin."

"It's...kinda claustrophobic in here."

"You'll get used to it."

* * *

The daylight rolled by but the stillness was prominent in Anna's seemingly empty room, almost void of silence aside from the scraping sound of her dragging her quill pen across the paper with her blood-red ink.

Her face was set to this relaxed but serious expression as her hand strain to wrote the words on the paper. Her hand began to shake through to the point that she had to stop. Sighing to herself, she grabbed the paper and scanned over with her eyes.

"It's harder than I anticipated," she muttered to herself, voice strained and eyes haunted at what she had just written.

While still in her hand, the paper suddenly began to smoke before catching fire. The white letter burned up and black flakes danced in the air and across Anna's snow-white skin before nothing in her hand, nothing but ash.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Ohhh! I wonder what those letters are about!**

**Words can't describe how excited I am to show you Anna's last story. And I had thought it over and I did create a back story for Alucard and Anna, showing how they met and how they fell in love. I'm also thinking about making that an entirely separate chapter and not a flashback within the present. Keeping it simple.**

**And aside from just Anna and Alucard's relationship, I also want to give Anna and Seras a cute sisterhood relationship. I hope you'll enjoy it!**

**But one last thing. Anna's true identity? I have, in fact, created a name for her. She is somewhat based on a real person but just in the first name. I'll talk more about that when we actually get to that chapter!**


	4. Memory Of Red

**MEMORY OF RED**

_The cottage was small and seemingly handmade with careful consideration to where every brick went. The outside was surrounded by rose vines and honeysuckle plants but the inside had a strong smell of burning Ceder that came from the fireplace. All around, the small details surrounding the home gave it a very warm and gentle touch, balancing in perfectly with the woman who made it herself. _

_The Witch of Marron Forest is what she was called, a beautiful young woman with moon-drop silver eyes, shoulder-length silky blonde hair, and ivory skin. It appeared like she wasn't even real, like a fantasy, gliding around the small space with her long blue and white dress swaying around her as she walked. _

_The unknown woman stopped her prep work and glided back to her chair, sitting down in front of an obviously ill man in his mid 30's. "You came for my aid because you weren't feeling well?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. _

_The pale man sheepishly nodded his head and looked around the room suspiciously. "That's right. There were always rumors that a witch lived in Maroon Forest, but I took my chances in coming here anyway...seeing that I had nowhere else to go."_

_ Needless to say, he was surprised to see a young woman instead of a wrinkly old hag who would have spiderwebs for hair and claws for nails and teeth. This woman in front of him though was nothing like that. The complete opposite of what he initially imagined before making the journey. _

_A curious glimmer reflected in her silver eyes, contemplating his words when a sad expression suddenly befell to her face. "I see...but to correct you, I am not a witch. I just prefer to live in this forest for its vast resources of herbs and medicinal plants," she said, words as gentle as stark white feathers falling from the sky._

_The pale man blinked and stuttered his words out. "But..people say..."_

_The woman saw the hesitation on his face when her words collided with what the rumors have always been for years. She knew her own reputation was shaky but only because people like to bend the truth. She never liked the term 'witch' because it was way too harsh of a word to use, but she also can't argue that it wasn't entirely incorrect. __"Come now, let's not make this about me. You said you needed help, did you not?" Preferably not making this whole visit about her, she would rather get back to the matter at hand. "Is there anything out of the ordinary? Do you feel faint, sick, lack of an appetite? Anything like that?"_

_"Something along those lines, I guess. I think I, uh, got a fever, and...bad headaches," he managed to think of. _

_"How long have things been going on?"_

_He thought it over for a moment. His mind spiraled to think how far back it started. "Like 2 days ago, maybe. It's not only me though. A lot of people in my village have been getting ill too. Their faces became swollen and they've been vomiting a lot."_

_The woman swallowed hard and stared down at her lap, fiddling with her white fingers and twisting them into the fabric of her dress. "That sounds grim," she said in a dry and rough voice. _

_She got up from her chair and walked to the back of her small cottage, passing herbs that dangled from the ceiling, shelves full of small bottles with various things inside, and up to a lit fireplace that already had a pot boiling over a fire._

_ She pulled out small scraps of cloth, a glass cup and a couple of small bottles from her shelves that had various crushed herbs inside. Pouring the ground herbs into the pot, she watched as the brownish-red liquid simmered, stirring it every so often as she waited for all the juices to mix properly. It had a strange smell to it, jumping between the scent of ginger and peppermint. It was so strong that it practically overwhelmed the usual smell of roasting wood the small cottage normally had. _

_Still sitting in the back of the room, the man shifted around uncomfortably in his seat before speaking up. "And, uh...there is one more thing I need to show you."_

_The unknown woman looked over her shoulder, eyes dimming with worry. "What is it?"_

_The man reached for the front of his shirt and slowly lifted it up above his head, revealing his pale skin that was strangely discolored. He raised his arm up and showed what looked to be these two small boils under his armpit. They both were a bright shade of red that had whiteheads, oozing out this odd fluid that was mixed with blood and pus. _

_The woman's eyes widen, bewildered and troubled. She made sure to keep her voice calm while speaking, grabbing a rag from off her counter to tie around her nose and mouth. "When did this appear?" she said, voice muffled by the cloth but obviously more serious._

_"Two days ago," he answered her, looking up with a disturbed and pleating expression. _

_"I see..." Sorrow held her eyes, but also kind and compassionate and not at all outraged despite how things looked. She went over to her shelves once more and grabbed a couple more things. One specifically for pain relief. "Do you have a family? Are their anymore that have boils like that?" she asked while pouring more herbs into the mixture. _

_He nodded. "My mother does. She has them worse than me though. Her's have turned black and she's completely bedridden now." He suddenly rushed up from his chair and grabbed the woman by her shoulder, spinning her around and holding her down with so much unnecessary force. "Please, you have to help us!" he urged, desperate and scared of the unknown._

_The woman was collected and kept everything around her under control, using her soothing voice and gentle touch to ease his worry. "Calm down. Please, just sit." She gestured back to the chair and eased him down. __She noticed that he was shaking now, growing paler because of his rising anxiety. "Unfortunately, I can't stop what has already happened but I can ease the pain," she said._

_She used a piece of cloth to grab the boiling pot from out of the fire's red hands and over to the table, setting it down on the aged wood that sizzled as soon as the hot cast iron touched it. The liquid inside had finally dulled out to a burgundy color that had pieces of ginger still swimming around. It was ready if it had turned that shade, pouring it all in the awaiting glass and tying it up with a strip of cloth and a rubber band. _

_"This is good for drinking and pressing against the boils. It can ease your mother's pain too and stop yours before it can get any worse," she said, handing the wicked-looking concoction over. _

_The glass was hot in his hands but he held onto it like it was the most precious thing he had ever laid eyes on. "Thank...thank you so very much!" he thanked her profusely. "I...I don't have any money on me but-"_

_The woman stopped him, offering a kind smile in return. __"If you don't have any money then don't worry about it. Money has never been an issue for me. Now go." _

_She saw him to the door and watched with fleeting joy while he left her sight, disappearing into the darkened woods with only a couple hours of daylight left. __Only when he was long gone did her smile finally fall, sighing with this kind of depression that made her heart ache for him._

_ "Plague..." h__er voice croaked.__ "It's only going to get worse for him, here on out."_

_In this day and age, illness was more common than a healthy body. She herself had been able to avoid such epidemics because she lives far away from civilization, just the way she liked it._

_ It wasn't as though she hated people, really only going into the medical field just for their sake. It was because of her profession though that people have portrayed her to be a witch. In the past, multiple people had come forth and proclaimed her as such when in reality, her witchcraft was only plants and basic medical knowledge. They didn't know that though, thus forcing her to leave her village a long time ago. _

_Afterward, she found herself having a new outlook on people, actually finding them to be very fickled beings. They're scared of her but then turn around asking for help the next minute since they're so desperate. _

_Refusing had always been hard for her to do since it was like going against her nature. __All she ever wanted to do was help people. But most of the time, people didn't want anything to do with her._

_She breathed in deeply and patted her hands against her dress. "Might as well go and get more herbs..." She turned around to walk back into her home, grabbing a basket to put things in. _

_The sky had quite the beautiful lavender color to it, rippling clouds with a burning sun that bled light, showering the lands in a golden but fleeting glow. There were at least two hours left of daylight before the darkness truly did come, but she was sure it was more than enough time to gather supplies and head back home. _

_There were a number of gardens behind her house that she had taken a great deal of care into tending too, but recently it appeared that most of her herb gardens and normal flower beds haven't been doing well these last couple months. _

_The soil was dry, the roots were rotten and the leaves were brown. The dreaded signs of death had taken ahold. The worse though was her roses, her beloved garden that she had taken care of longer than any. It didn't even look like roses anymore, just an awful scraggily pile of weeds. _

_"Oh, God..." The woman's basket slipped from her fingers and she stumbled over to her garden, walking over the dead roses that crunched under the soles of her shoes. __She shuffled through the ugly piles of death for a while, searching for something that was still green. Something. Anything, and then she found it. _

_Within the death was a small unbloomed rose._

_ Gasping slightly with a silver of hope returning to her eyes, she peeled away the remains of the lifeless until she was finally able to touch it. Her fingers gently caressed the fragile petals until, before her eyes...the whole thing withered away to that unwanted brown color, totally disintegrating in the palm of her hand. Dead in seconds. _

_The woman sat down within the ruins of her garden, now knowing that it was truly gone. __Something struck her like lightning in that very moment, feeling the dead flakes fall through her fingers. It was an odd sense of dread, mixed with the isolation that made her body grow cold all of a sudden. _

_"How foolish I am... I should never have meddled with things outside my knowledge." The sweetness in her voice had disappeared, replaced with this helpless whimper that just drained all the life from her. Nothing but despair filled her eyes now._

_Her voice carried like a ghostly whisper through the sea of trees, wind howling like mad and blowing her golden locks across her parted lips. The song she sang was sweet but held grief and sorrow that ate away at all living things until nothing remained. A piercing melody the came straight from her very soul, drowning in this overflowing feeling of loss. _

_Like a flower soon to wilt away..._

_Like love soon to die again and again..._

_Like hours soon to stop with a single cry..._

_Like hope soon to run out of time..._

_She was unaware of how much time has passed since silence took her, unable to sing anymore without her voice cracking. __Darkness had finally come but instead was brought upon by something, the sound of distant horses that were coming up fast. _

_The swarm of horses was finally upon her, stomping in place with human voices mixed in with them. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was a group of at least five men. They were all dressed in armor and most of them, if not all, were injured one way or another._

_There was one man among the group though that stood out to her the most. He was dressed in black and silver armor, a tall suspicious man that made her heart shiver. His hair looked like it was made of shadows, his clothes and cape stained with old blood, and his voice had the power to make the heavens shake. It, sure enough, made her stand up though to address him. _

_What did he want of her?_

_Was he here to kill her?_

_Why would he bring so many men if not for that?_

_Something was amiss though. Through the shadows of his hair, she could see his eyes. Death followed close like a shroud, but what was behind them told her a different story. She could see that there were multiple sides. A silvery blue that had the makings of a lonely child, one of cruelty that was oddly beautiful, and another that was just so...longing. _

_This man. This tyrant had a yearning. For what? That is still unknown to even him. _

_The Count stared down at the unknown woman, seeing her look right into his eyes without the slightest bit of terror in them. He scoffed at her fearlessness and dismounted his horse, his tall intimidating frame towering over her. "You...are you the healer of Maroon Forest? I have a request for you."_

* * *

A thumping resonated from the core of her body and made Anna's eyes snap wide open, fully awake from her dead-like slumber. She laid still within the confined darkness of her coffin and just breathed in these shallow breaths of air as her skin ran cold. It took a couple more seconds for her to fully calm down, a bit panicked from what transpired.

It was a faint sensation but the feeling wasn't entirely unknown to her just yet. 500 years have passed since her heart worked, but just now...she swore there was a heartbeat within her chest. It was so sudden and out of nowhere that it truly did frighten her for a moment. The fear didn't last near as long though before the feeling of happiness followed. Whether it was real or not, it briefly gave her the fantasy that she was human once more. A beautiful dream, yet an ugly and cruel illusion.

There was no such life left within her chest...

Anna figured that it must've been her old memories to trigger the sensation once more, despite it not actually happening. She could still remember it though, the feeling of her heart beating inside her body. It would throb, it would speed up, and it would flutter for time to time. A heartbeat was such a fickled and mysterious thing. You could fool yourself about your own emotions but your heart would always tell the truth in the end.

She pushed her hands up against the top of the coffin and pulled it right off. The inside of her room wasn't completely dark, saved by the few candle lights that she had lit around the empty space. Aside from that though she was completely alone...by the looks of it though.

Anna called gently out into the air. "You can come out now, Alucard. I know you're there. And I thought I said never to linger in my shadow without my knowledge first."

Darkness began to bleed through the ceiling of her room and spread out to the four walls, blocking out the candlelight and delivering her into darkness. As everything was consumed, Anna looked up and saw eyes peering down at her. Blood red and spiraling with various types of emotions. There was hardly any humanity left within those eyes, only fragments now. All in which solely belong to her.

His voice was deep, deeper than the pits of hell, resonating throughout her whole body and made her muscles tense up. "I'm sorry. That was never my intention. You were sleeping so peacefully that I just didn't want to wake you yet." The darkness dripped from the ceiling like murky black water and formed into the man she knew and loved.

"Did something come up? she asked, rubbing the sleep from her glassy red eyes.

"It appears something has." He held his hands out for her to take and helped her out of the coffin. It automatically slammed shut behind her.

Anna flinched a bit when she felt her head flashing with fragments of her dream. Gliding her hands up his arm, she felt no heat from his body, making her eyes grow sad with this bitter reality she had faced. Just like him, there was no warmth either. Two entirely cold beings whose hearts no longer beat constant truths. For once Anna was glad she was a vampire, knowing her lover wouldn't be able to pick out the truth from her trouble natured heart.

Her eyes flickered over to the box of letters under the table, longingly before looking away.

* * *

Integra lit the end of her cigarette and gazed out the window. The glassy pale moon was bright that twilight night, making the two extra shadows inside her office stretch longways.

"I truly don't know why you would pick up such a hobby, Anna. Have you grown tired of the companion you're with and require new company?" Her voice was dry and lax, smoke burning off the end of her cigarette as it sat between her lips.

Anna and Alucard's tall figures bled through the darkness on either side of their Master.

"Aside from a couple of scratches and scrapes in the road, we do share over 500 years worth of unquestionable loyalty towards each other." Anna crossed her arms over her chest and leaned over Integra's desk to see the scattered pieces of paperwork. An unfinished case? "What this?" she asked, picking it up to get a better look. Anna's stomach plunged all the way to the gates of hell to meet the Devil himself when she gazed upon a gruesome picture of a message written in blood. "Oh my God..."

"A new job," Integra answered her. "On Route 17 in Birmingham, someone is murdering families as they travel north. We found vampire bite marks on the victims' necks, leaving behind blasphemous messages in blood in their rooms," her voice grew with disgust. "How attentive." Integra glanced over at Anna. "What do you think?"

"Well..." Anna quickly pulled herself together to look closer at all the pictures to see if she can find any detail that might help. "This level of damage may be because of more than one suspect, but this style though...seems rather rebellious. Probably vampires who stopped aging while in the late teens?"

Alucard's dark voice worn over her like a thick heavy blanket, arms wrapped around her thin body and pulling her close. "These cheap vampires are cropping up more and more," he said in her ear and pulled the pictures from her hands.

Anna's smile was small, reaching her hand back to gently touch the side of his face. She felt static through her fingertips when he leaned into her hand.

"I don't recall asking anyone else's opinion aside from Anna's." Integra reminded him.

Alucard picked Anna off her feet and slank backwards. "Then...tomorrow night," he said while melting back into the walls like they were made of rippling water.

* * *

It was the very next day when they got word of the two family murderers, a young Bonnie and Clyde like duo who were being chased down the highway. Reports said they had firearms with them and have been using such things to keep the ordinary police off their trail this whole time. Hellsing was ready for them and went on ahead with blocking the end of the road with armed troops.

Seras was on standby upon a rooftop and was just waiting in agonizing silence for the duo to cross her line of sight. Fingers twitching over the trigger, mind panicked with the thought that she might mess up again like last time.

She heard Anna's soft voice within her head, gently calling with her beautiful words. "_Relax, Seras. I can hear your pumping and panicked blood from all the way out here. There is no need for that, keep it in mind that these people have left a trail of bodies in their wake up till now."_

Her stomach was turning all over the place. "I know that Miss Anna, but..." She stopped herself and bit down hard on her lips. "I promise that I won't disappoint you." Seras held on tight to those words and drilled them into her mind, thinking that if she promised Anna of all people, then she will have no other choice but to succeed. She will, no doubt about it anymore.

"_I know you won't..._" Anna's voice dripped away from her mind and silence returned.

* * *

Alucard and Anna stood by the highway and watched with their sharp red eyes as the Bonnie and Clyde duo came into view for them, riding on the back of a motorcycle. It was obvious they were a young and rebellious couple judging from their age, probably only having a couple of months of immortality under their belt.

A wave of irony blood made Anna's throat become instantly dry, bitterly because the smell was so revolting, but also reminding her that she hasn't had anything to drink for a while herself. It was an odd sensation of need and disgust. Her humanity and vampirism clashing against each other.

Anna used the white fabric of her sleeve to cover her nose. "I see them." She took in a deep breath and expanded her lungs before exhaling black smoke, eyes shimmering like millions of gems. "Barrier Control: Gate unlock system...level 5."

She held out her hands as smoke began to radiate off them, sparks of crimson following by brilliant flames of scarlet. Flames as lovely as hers gave Anna a dazzling appearance, flickers of gold mixed in with the fire that didn't leave a single burn on her ivory skin.

Stretching her hands all the way out, Anna slammed them together with a great deal of force and created a ruby ring of fire rushing out from the focus point of her hands. It cascaded down the road at a high velocity towards Bonnie and Clyde, running down both sides until the only place to go was forwards.

"Woah, what the fuck!" Clyde exclaimed and felt the harsh heat lick the side of his face. "Ow! That's hot!"

"Babe, what is this? What's going on?" Bonnie was pale with fright and held on to her love. She looked right over his shoulders and down the ring of fire they were surrounded by, seeing a white-dressed person standing right in front of them. "Who's that?"

The ground was scorched under Anna's feet while she walked down the streets towards them, the end of her golden hair aflame with fire dripping from her hands like it was made of water. She looked at them with these mad demonic eyes that glowed the worse kind of red. An evil red, pure and honest that could only come from blood.

Clyde clenched his jaw and sped up, planning on just ramming right into her. "Damn! I'll fucking run you down too!"

Out from behind Anna appeared Alucard's tall figure, swiftly turning around and pointing his pistol right at the bike. He shot a single round right into the tire and blew the two right off.

Alucard's pleased smile never fell from his face as he walked past his burning beloved. "No conviction and no control... You can't shape change into a spider or bat, and you can't even put out the flames that keep you where you are."

Flecks of fire fell as Anna moved her hands around, manipulating the flames into totally circling around the four of them. There was now nowhere else to run.

Clyde armed himself with his automatic and huddled close together away from the fires. "Who are you two?"

"You carelessly murdered women and children and you weren't even thirsty. Did you have fun? Is that how you satisfy yourselves? You cheap, filthy, Bonnie and Clyde!"

"What's with you and that freak of a woman?!" Clyde barked at them.

"A freak you say?" Alucard's deep voice suddenly appeared at their back like a waiting reaper. "You're not only trash but you also carry no respect either.

Clyde snapped his head around but he wasn't there.

"Vampires who live forever?" Alucard's voice echoed out.

Once again, he was gone when he turned around.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Clyde didn't turn around this time but instead, lifted his gun over his shoulder and pulled the trigger, shooting Alucard in the shoulder and putting him down. Laughing when he believed he done it, only to shutter in fear when another deep chuckle overwhelmed his.

"Who the hell is this?" Clyde quivered on the ground.

Alucard sat up and reached into his coat to pull out his pistol while Clyde duel wielded an extra gun. They both fired off at the same time but the massive round of the Casull won the fight and went right through the boy, reducing him to ash.

"NO!" Bonnie ran off towards the fire...that dissipated the instant she got close to it, giving the girl the chance to escape from them.

Alucard got up from the ground, flexing his fingers as his arm repaired itself back to normal. "Oh? You really do want your little servant to succeed, do you," he said, watching as the flames surrounding her vanished.

Anna smiled sheepishly. "I would like her to have the chance to prove herself. So I'll let her have it this time."

A smirk edged to his face. "You really are a nice girl."

* * *

Back at the block-off point, they just got a radio update that one target was approaching Seras's position. Bonnie was at least 500 yards away. The humans shouldn't be able to see her yet but Seras could.

_"Seras, you should see her by now,"_ Anna called out within her head once more.

Seras stared down the seemingly pitch-black road that appeared as if it was glowing, and in the distance, she could see the fleeing Bonnie.

"I...I can," Seras answered back but actually got a better look at her. "But, Miss Anna...she looks like a normal girl."

"_And so do you and I. Appearances are not everything and don't paint a picture of everyone's lives. Appearances are deceiving. Vampires like her...are deceiving."_

Seras's eyes grew wide. "She's a vampire?"

It almost seemed unreal, like it was a trick of the mind. She would imagine vampires to have a more demonic appearance, but neither Alucard nor Anna appeared that way. Appearances don't paint a picture of one's lives. She couldn't go off looks anymore.

Seras tightened her jaw and pulled the trigger. A single gunshot silence the whole night as Bonnie collapsed to the floor, seconds later her body grayed and turned into ash.

_"Well done, Seras Victoria."_

Fargason stood up and radioed back to headquarters. "Target sweep completed. Alucard took out target A. And senior officer, Seras Victoria, took out target B."

* * *

Seras was on her way back to the trucks when a voice called out from behind her, a voice so very gentle and soothing. "Welcome to the Hellsing Organization."

She turned around and saw Anna standing there, smiling widely like a child. "Thank you, Miss Anna."

The smile on Anna's face then retreated, sadly. "But with this, you have finally become like me, a being who can no longer feel the sun upon their skin." She walked towards her and placed a kind hand on Seras's shoulder. "I know you've been avoiding drinking blood."

Seras froze. "I, uh..." she looked down, quiet as Anna ran her hand up to her head, ruffling her hair. "I'm sorry."

"For vampires, blood is a luxury yet also a curse. You desire it, yet are disgusted by it. You need it to survive though or else your body will only grow weak."

Not even Anna's smooth words could save Seras from the harsh reality that she was having to face. Thinking about it though, Alucard doesn't seem to have that same mindset as Anna does. Actually, neither of them seem to have anything in common, but still, carrying this kind unbreakable and unquestionable bond?

It made Seras wonder how their story came to be. What was their first encounter like? What was Anna like for Alucard to fall for her, and how could such an overly pleasant woman be in love with a man who saw things entirely different from her?

* * *

_The small cottage wasn't big enough for the two of them. The Count, if standing would have to duck his head low to avoid the ceiling, while also being in close proximity to the witch woman standing beside him, patient__ly waiting with arms crossed over her chest._

_This is what he found odd about her whole demeanor. Time and time again he had caused people to be overly intimidated by him. This girl wasn't though, just curious. He could tell that by the flickers of questions across her silver eyes. She didn't say anything though and just waited patiently for him to sit down. In which he did. _

_The woman turned her back to the Count and went on to mix a couple of herbs together in the big pot, now clean from last time and ready to use. "__You must be quite desperate to come to my small home with __such little men here with you," she said while stirring the ever-color changing liquid. It boiled up nicely and gave off a relaxing aroma of lavender. _

_The Count leaned his arm against the counter and cocked a brow. "Do you intend to put a curse on us with your magic?" He saw no danger in the woman, as skinny as she was. Something shifted though with her posture. Her shoulders stiffened and she seemed to shrink down into herself. Her 5'7 frame collapsing into a 5'0 one._

_She stopped her stirring motion and pulled the large spoon from the pot, brown liquid dripping off. Her voice was soft but in a way it was weak. There was no confidence nor power and she just sounded like a helpless young child. "The only curse I ever cast...was upon myself. You've seen my roses outside, haven't you?" She gestured out the window to his right. _

_The Count turned his head to where she was pointing and saw the depressing rose garden right outside her home, Brown and shamelessly dead. He pondered on her words for a bit before realizing...that wasn't a joke. "So you're saying you cursed yourself? And here I thought the rumors about you being a witch were blown out of proportion." He was slightly taken back when she looked over her shoulder at him, a smile on her face. It may be weak but it counted for something. _

_ "Count, I'll have you know that greed is a dangerous feeling to possess." __Her voice felt like velvet upon his rough and scarred skin, making it burn though with this deep and brutal understanding of life from her experience through it. _

_"Oh?" He blinked and met her round, moon-like eyes that appeared as though they knew more than him. "So was it greed that turned you into a witch?"_

_"Greed is a bottomless cavern and I foolishly believed I could find a nonexistent bottom." She sighed deeply. "I dove too far and look where it got me." _

_The Count glanced around at all the small bottles on her shelves and back to the window where the gardens were. The woman might've understood that it will soon become hard to continue doing what she did. She was running out of time but didn't know what to do. "You drowned..."_

_"It was an irreversible mistake that causes death to follow me. Though I'm not sure if it was by God's wrathful hand or by my own foolish ones. Either way...I don't think he listens to my pleas anymore. He hasn't for a long time." __She fell silent once again but this time it seemed to stain the air with this dreadful vibe, stirring the pot cause she had nothing else to do now._

_This sudden deep chuckle caught her attention before it broke out into a full-fledged laugh. He was laughing. The Count was laughing at her. _

_Never had she had to turn around so fast, face flushed bright red with embarrassment and anger. "__It's rude to laugh at another person's misfortune." She raised her voice but it only pitched like a small mouse. _

_"I can't help it though. You wish to help people, but they reject you. You wish to do God's work, but he rejects you too. I never thought I would come face to face with such a creature...someone who doesn't belong anywhere." His laugh bellowed out deep from his stomach and made the whole room shake. He soon calmed himself though and held her trembling eyes with his own. "I pity you."_

_His words sat deep in her soul and her eyes narrowed, still speaking rather softly with the utmost sincerity. "Don't. I don't need pity. I've understood what I did and I'm trying to move past that. I'm just going to do what I've always done, no matter the person who comes knocking at my door. My hands are cursed, but even though...I still want to help people."_

_There were multiple words to describe this woman before him. Some good, others bad, but one thought crossed his mind that seemed to be a mix. This woman was in a morally gray situation where her intentions were good but her actions were not. __She was more aware of her situation than anyone and his words to her were not new, thoughts like that crossing her mind on a daily bases__._

_ It was generally amazing though that she can carry on as she does. Her words were fair and well-spoken and her voice appeared stronger than his. It really did make him believe that she was standing on equal grounds against him. She knew it too...and it was all so very beautiful. _

_She was a beautiful black sun._

_The woman went back to diligently working, boiling everything until it was ready. She took the long strips of cloth and dipping them into the pot for a couple of seconds until pulling them out. The Count peeled the silver armor pieces off his arm and rolled up his chainmail to show a large, red and black wound that was already covered by soaked bandages._

_ Being extra careful to not agitate it, the woman pulled the old bandages off and wrapped the wet strip of cloth around it instead, grabbing new bandages and wrapping it back up a second time to be extra sure no dirt or grime will get in. _

_The Count hardly even flinched when he felt his arm began to burned by the medicine soaked bandages, his full attention solely on the woman. He studied her attentive eyes, the feel of her rough hands that had seen hard work, slightly parted red lips, and her hair that was a pale golden color. _

_The woman finally noticed his impassioned gaze and lifted her head, faces inches away but long-drawn silence blocking their path. She cleared her throat quickly and backed off. "__This will kill any kind of potential infection and will give your wounds time to heal properly. I've made enough for your men too, so take that with you when you depart from here," she said. _

_He looked down at his arm, time passing by before the burning sensation faded away to this soothing coolness. It didn't hurt anymore. "I'm beginning to understand why people feared you for being a witch." he suddenly said and took the woman by surprise. _

_"Pardon?"_

_"You are more skilled than any other medical doctor I've seen till now. Be it witchcraft or not. Your natural gift is knowledge, and knowledge is power," he declared confidently which made the woman's heart speed up._

_Her eyes settled to this serious stare. "People are afraid of me because they don't comprehend what it is I truly devote myself too." she scoffed by accident, which made the Count smirk. _

_"It's funny how humans think that way," he trailed off. _

_That statement made her chest tighten up. "You say it like you yourself...are not human."_

_ "It's because I'm not." __His eyes suddenly became heavy, clouded with his weariness.__ "People who take things from others are not human, only a demon, a monster without a place."_

_The lady cocked her head to the side and sat down in front of him. "Such as myself. A creature without a place. What's funny is that it sounded like you've got hurt by your own words."_

_He laughed again but this time it was weak."You're right. At least the small human part of me is able to admit it though."_

_It was her turn to pity the man, but this time offering him one of her kind smiles. She reached over to him and very playfully tapped her knuckle against the side of his face so he could look at her properly, wishing to have his eyes burn into hers once more. In which they did. __"Perhaps that's one thing we have in common."_

_Darkness had not only swallowed the sky but the stars as well. Nothing but the moon remained when the witch walked the Count back to his men who were loading up, getting ready to make the hour-long track back home. During the time, she had gone over their injuries and even gave them extra pain relievers and disinfectants for their troubles. It was a wonderful gift despite how low on supplies she actually was. _

_She stood beside the Count as he walked over to his equally pitch-black horse. He was about to mount it b__ut stopped to look at her one last time, her appearance moonstruck by the light and glowing. _

_"Your name. What is it?" he asked. _

_The woman chuckled a bit, tilting her head to the side and smiling. "Knowing my name comes with the promise to come back, doesn't it." She closed her eyes for a brief moment before offering her hand to shake. "My name is-"_


	5. Secrets Lost On Red Days

**SECRETS LOST ON RED DAYS**

It was a rather curious thing, the body, and its functions. A heartbeat was such a soft pattering thing that seemed so weak and delicate but somehow is strong enough to keep the body alive and maintain its strong blood flow. It had always piqued Anna's interest but she noticed that it was a dark kind of curiosity, a strong desire of greed that had never left her system even after all these years. It was the fact that she was a vampire that those kinds of interests dwindled within her a bit and gave her a sense of relief. Every once in awhile though...she would still have these dark intentions surging inside her mind, never long-lasting but not totally gone either. It made her uneasy sometimes. Today was one of those occasions though with the sudden death of a young man.

The ashy color of death was attached to him like a stain. He was only twenty years old and had died 72 hours ago, however, his bodily functions ceased only 12 hours ago. Very curious, Anna was. Darkly curious.

The young man was laid out on an autopsy table with blue-aproned men standing around him. Anna was inside the room too and stood at the back of the table. She hovered over his face as her blonde hair slid off her shoulders, gently touching the side of his pale features. She blinked a couple of times as her eyes glimmered and glowed, shining with curiosity and concern. She looked to the window and saw Integra standing outside next to the headmaster of the school that the young man came from. Integra pulled her cigarette from her lips and nodded her head, silently giving her permission to continue.

Anna took her long white fingers and gently stroked them across the young man's marble-white face, moving his head to the side to expose the back of his neck. The ends of her hair began to sway before multiple golden strands hovered in the air, rocking back and forth before moving in close to the neck. It was a quick and precise movement but they managed to cut open the neck only a little and fish around inside to search for something. Anna slowly narrowed her eyes when the strands began to vibrate, a sign it would do when it latched ahold of something. She quickly pulled whatever it was out from the man's body and looked at it.

It was a chip of some sort. Very small with multiple wires coming out of the ends, but what really made Anna tilt her head with puzzlement was what was engraved on the front of it. It was quite small and seemed to be initials of some kind.

"_B.V_? Who's that?" Anna frowned and pulled the chip close to her eyes to see if she could spot anything else. Aside from that though, there was nothing else to discover. "This is not looking good," she said and looked back to Integra who was staring intensely at her. "It appears we've found the culprit for the recent increase of vampires. We got fakes running among us."

* * *

The darkness whispered alluring words and shadows climbed along the walls in Anna's room. She sat still at her desk and just silently stared down at the mysterious chip that was recently discovered. Chills ran up her back though when she felt the presence of a huge and ominous figure creeping on her. Large hands that were dressed in white gloves reached out to her neck and gently slid them up to the side of her face, pulling her head back to force her gaze upwards to stare into the red eyes that looked so longingly at her.

Anna breathed in deeply and smiled. "Hello, my love," she whispered with her voice made from a heavenly melody, the alluring words that could make any person shutter with excitement and desire, but for him, being able to just hear her voice was enough for him to be satisfied.

Alucard chuckled so very deeply that it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Hello, my dear Anna." He leaned his face down and tapped his forehead against hers, his long black hair tickling her skin and brushing past her eyes. "Did you find something interesting?" he asked and looked back up, stepping to the side to gaze down at the chip. It was sat in a small container on her desk.

"Indeed," Anna answered and held his hand tightly, taking it up to her lips and kissing the back of it. She saw the seal on the back of his glove flash a little and she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Usually, it would be vampires creating other vampires, like how you did with me. Now things are different. We have humans creating vampires now." She released his hand and leaned far across her desk, staring strongly at the initials embedded into the chip. "This age right now is quite strange."

"There are always cheap imitations in any time period," he reminded her, narrowing his eyes with old memories rapidly flying by them. "Truly though, if you were born in a different time period...then you could've probably discovered this yourself, regarding your level of knowledge."

"It's a good thing I was born in a dark age then. I would never make such a monstrosity and curse people like that. It's not a way to live, that's for sure."

Alucard was quiet with Anna's last remark, watching her solemn face turning to marble-white stone. She carried something deep and regretful in her eyes that was mixed in with quite a few other emotions. It was always strange to him that she could look that way, so very human, despite being a vampire, but he supposed that's why he found her so incredibly interesting. A woman who was never meant to be a vampire and was never accepted as a human. Her place in this world was something that she created herself and built around her, like a protective shell or suit of armor.

"Tell me, Anna, what would you prefer? These fakes or the genuine," he asked.

Anna blinked a couple of times and kept her stern composure. "Neither. It's not a life I wouldn't have chosen for myself and my acceptance of vampires is very small. The only ones I'm willing to take is you and Seras. That is it." Anna chuckled lightly. "Yet, you already knew that." she looked up at him, softly smiling.

He closed his eyes and shrugged. "I know you better than anyone and I understand your feelings for your own kind. But what surprises me is that you accept the police girl."

"But of course." She looked confused that he would say such a thing. "What kind of person would I be if I turned away from someone who needed help. I wouldn't be myself If I did." Anna's pale eyebrows turned up and a looked dawned to her face. "Speaking of which, you've been keeping an eye on her, haven't you? Is she still flushing the blood down the drain?"

"You knew about that?"

"Her thoughts can get rather loud when she's distressed," Anna answered. "But I'm not worried. I know for a fact that she'll drink eventually. The pull is too strong and can't be delayed forever. Remember when I tried to do that when I first turned." She peeked up and saw something odd flicker across his old eyes.

"Those were...rather dark times." Not only were his eyes strange but so was his voice. He sounded distant like he wasn't even speaking to her, but to himself. "If I recall, you managed to last six months."

Anna reached her hand up to his arm but stopped when she saw herself shaking suddenly. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly pulled away to hide her trembling. She continued to do so until she brought up a different subject that didn't seem so heavy. "Have you noticed the initials on the chip?" she asked quickly in a single breath.

Alucard must've noticed her jitteriness and softened his gaze, placing a strong hand on her shoulder to give her a small sign of comfort. "_B.V_..." he scoffed. "It could be anyone, but that person must be quite arrogant and prideful to place his name on his own device," he speculated. He took his hand and glided it over the chip. The device began to float in the air and quiver and vibrate. He toyed with it for only a minute before his eyes widen and he dropped it back onto the tray.

"Alucard?" Anna noticed the change. "What is it?"

"There seemed to be something strange within it."

"Like what?"

"I'm actually not sure." Alucard laughed a bit and stared down at the name embedded on the front. "Arrogant indeed."

Anna's eyes slowly grew but any kind of words that were beginning to form stopped just at the tip of her tongue. There was a soft knocking sound coming from her door that caught her attention.

"Miss Anna," Walter called out before opening it up and stepping inside. He wasn't surprised to see Alucard there. "Ah, you're here too. Good. There seemed to have been an...unfortunate development with the young foreign exchange student that the chip came from."

She blinked. "What do you mean by developments?"

* * *

Integra was fuming while walking beside Walter and Anna, heading over towards the Hellsing troops that were getting ready to move out. An hour had passed since they got a distress call from the hospital, urgently reporting that the young foreign student had come back and is currently going on a massacre, slaughtering everyone inside with weapons that he had found. The rumors said that he was still a vampire, which was strange despite the chip being removed by Anna herself. It had never occurred to her that something like that could happen. It was now proven that no one could return to being a human once they made the commitment.

Integra big down on her lips and sharpened her blue eyes into a harsh stare. "Anna. I want you to go with the troops," she ordered sternly.

Anna nodded and stepped back into the shadows of the shady tree line, melting into the darkness and disappearing from sight.

"Send Alucard, too," Integra added, which perplexed Walter

"But the target is a single vampire. Surely only adding Anna will suffice," he said.

Integra grits her teeth and barked her orders out once more. "I won't say it twice. Walter," she said.

Walter didn't think anything of it. He nodded his head and walked off.

* * *

The Hellsing troops stormed the hospital and moved out carefully through the long and empty halls, the sound of gunfire bouncing off the walls and vibrating loudly in their ears.

Seras moved with the troops when she heard Anna's voice coming from inside her own shadow. "He's near. I can feel it," she said in an echoey.

"How can you?"

"His desire and rage are seeping through the walls," Anna's snow-white fingers rose up from Seras's shadow like it was made of murky black water. Her tall figure stood from the depths of the darkness and stood beside her, eyes fixated ahead, "not to mention the smell of blood is getting more pungent the deeper we go," she answered.

The sound of gunfire was prominent with gunsmoke slowly filling the air with the constant hailstorm of bullets flying. Just then though, the young man's voice roared out in this desperate and rage-filled cry. "MICK!" His voice was so broken and lost that it actually grieved Anna to hear.

Seras flinched. "What's wrong with him?'

"He's lost," Anna said wistfully, completely calm as the young man slowly emerged from the shadows, dressed in only a hospital bedsheet.

His eyes matched Anna's to the exact shade of brilliant blood-red but were still quite different from her in many ways. While Anna held kindness and sorrow, he had rage and loss. It swirled and mixed together, turning him into this unstable beast that was desperate to find the one he loves most in this world. Unknown to him that his love had already vanished.

"Anna." Captain Gareth turned to her, eyes strained and ears ringing from the rogue vampire's sharp and hopeless voice. "Is he approaching?" He still couldn't see it because he was far away.

She shook her head. "Ah, he is." She waved her hand to hold Seras's aim. "Don't. I'll put him down, and with this, we can put this whole thing behind us," she said softly and began to slowly approach the man.

He continued to cry out the name with the voice of a broken record, not knowing anything more to say. "Mick, Mick...!"

It was funny. He was young, young like her from long ago, and for some strange reason, she could see either Alucard and herself within this young man. His rage, his sorrow, his loss. He had become this way all because he lost the person he loved. If any case, it did make her wonder if Alucard would act the same if something happened to her. Would he grieve just as much as this young man was? Would he cry? Would he rage? She was curious but it was a sickening kind of feeling that prevented Anna from thinking that far ahead.

She didn't want to know.

She didn't want to cause him pain.

"MISS ANNA!" It was a sudden cry of peril and a heavy drop that made Anna freeze where she stood. It was Seras's voice that she heard, desperate, and overall petrified.

Anna slowly turned around to the scene that was behind her and saw what she thought, momentarily, was a cruel illusion that came deep from her own nightmares. Oh, but it was real. So very...very real. Seras was in a kneeling position with a silver bayonet sticking out from her throat, gore dripping from the tip of the blade, and Captain Gareth's body had turned pale and laid against the ground, a pool of blood forming around him.

Wickedness in his truest form stood in front of Anna now. His back was to the window and the bright red shade of the sky outside cast a large shadow over his body that almost obscured his features from her sight. This stranger towered over Anna like a Goliath, dressed in a long white coat with a silver cross dangling back and forth from his neck. On his face were these thick-framed glasses, reflecting these clear and genuine green eyes. There was no hesitation, only justice that he believed to be right.

This was a creature, a...human. He was purposely standing in front of her with every intention of striking Anna down. The bayonets in his hand were proof of that promise.

"Repent for your sinful life...you wicked vampire!" His voice was loud and new, making his emerging stature seem bigger than it actually was. He seemed every big as Alucard was. "Even if you serve humanity, you are still a corrupted non-human."

Anna got over her initial shock at the Vatican man standing before her and hardened her eyes. Grace and poise turned up into her soft features as she spoke to the man. "You seem to be a little bit out of your league here, human. This is not your home, nor is it your job." Her eyes trailed down to Seras. She was understandably quite panicked with a knife in her throat and a killer at her back. Anna wished to help her and take the bayonet out, but at the same time, she didn't trust herself to make a bold move with this man standing before her.

The stranger turned his head up to Anna's voice and gazed at her burning red eyes that were undoubtedly calm. He felt a sense of disgust turning in his stomach the longer he looked at her pleasant face. Her beautiful features reminded him of a succubus. "Poor Enrico Stivaletti's soul is gone but his corpse will regain peace through this holy sword, as will you...soon enough," he said as if he was going to do her a favor. "No matter the corners of the world, it is my duty to put those who strayed from God to rest."

Anna's pale pink lips turned up into a charming smile. "How nice of you. I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to refuse such a temptation. It was God who abandoned me first so he doesn't have a saying in the matter of what happens anymore. That luxury is only given to my beloved since he seems to be the only one who values me. "

He snickered at her sweet words, dripping like honey since her voice was made of sugar. "My dear wicked creature, you have quite the silver tongue."

Anna tilted her head to the side and laughed brightly. "I shall take that as a compliment, my dear holy man. Or...Father Alexander Anderson." Her eyes intensified and the smile dissolved from her face, turning severely serious. "I do not shame you for killing my kind, but there are certain individuals who are off-limits. Such as the girl behind you and the human man you had just laid waste too."

A darkness grew at Anna's feet as her shadow size increased and morphed. Enrico Stivaletti crept up behind the unsuspecting woman and growled through his teeth before abruptly rushing at her, his arms raised and ready to strike. It was then that the blackness burst up from the ground and Alucard's hand ripped right through the young man's chest, returning him to ash as he should've been in the first place.

Anna wasn't even remotely surprised that he was in her shadow the whole time. She knew since the beginning that he was there since he let her know beforehand. The whole time he had been laying back and waiting with growing anticipation and excitement until something like this happened. It was exactly what Integra had predicted.

A sinister grin captured his lips and made them turn upwards. "Anna's right. You shouldn't be here, you accursed priest." There was a hint of laughter in his darkened voice.

Anderson followed up with an eager grin. "I heard there were two monsters inside the Hellsing family. I was wondering where the other one was."

"Iscariot Organization..." Alucard's eyes fell upon Anna and saw her clenching her hands tightly. She was nervous about Seras and for the situation. "...I see."

"We have destroyed monsters like you long before the Hellsing family ever existed." Anderson reached into his coat and suddenly threw a storm of golden bible pages out, pinning them to the walls with his bayonets.

Alucard and Anna hardly looked effected but there was an obvious strain on Seras's face. The air was vibrating and felt heavy, weighing down on the non-humans as their bodies struggled against the barrier Anderson had put up. It was somewhat painful and even prevented them from using any kind of vampiric ability, also stopping them from leaving the room.

"You defiled this place?" Alucard tightened his jaw.

"Defiled? I purified it so the dirty monsters couldn't use their cheap tricks," Anderson gave a cackling laugh. "Our mission is to exterminate fools who go against God. We will crush everything, down to their last pieces of flesh! Amen!" He slowly pulled his holy blades together. His eyes pierced through the two vampires before him.

Alucard used one hand to grab Anna by her shoulder and gently move her out of the way while using his other one to pull out the gun that was tucked in his coat. "You don't know your place! You're only human!"

The air felt like it was shuddering as the red sky outside made the room feel ominously dark. It was almost as if they had stepped into another dimension with the way things were playing out. Anna winched when her ears began to vibrate with how much pressure the holy pages were putting on her. She was worried about Seras mostly because of the holy bayonet sticking out of her neck. She could imagine the pain and how it must've felt like her throat was on fire, unable to move because of the properties the weapon possessed. It was specifically made for vampires. The worst kind of danger.

Alucard moved in front of Anna to block her from sight just as Anderson charged at them, fast and sharp. He pulled his blades out and tried to cut at the unholy creature in front of him, only for the vampire to move out of the way with grace and calm reflects like he was playing with a child. It almost looked like they were dancing until they both briskly turned around. Anderson had his blade in Alucard's stomach. He was fast but not remarkable enough to avoid a bullet that landed itself right in his forehead. The force of the impact blew him back and he laid still on the ground, steam coming out of the hole in his head.

The moment the eeriness was gone, Anna jogged over to Seras and quickly kneeled down beside her. She gagged a bit on the smell of blood but bit down on her pale lips to hold everything inside. "Hold still. I'll get it out of you," she said urgently.

Seras struggled to breathe and she couldn't even talk without blood gushing up from her mouth. "M-Mistress..." She was a bit surprised to see that Anna was almost as panicked as she was, trembling as her long white fingers curled around the blade and yanked it out fast. "Ugh!" Seras cringed from the pain and recoiled into herself.

She couldn't help but feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes when she suddenly felt Anna's silk dress meet the side of her face. Seras was stunned into silence and swore she had felt warmth coming from the lady's body, but figured she must've been imagining it. Still, Anna's arms were long and wrapped around her like a comforting blanket. It was almost a motherly hug, an embrace someone would receive from a loved one. Even though it was cold, Seras couldn't help but become absorbed by the feeling of silky comfort.

Anna pulled her face down over Seras's head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she whispered while apologizing for whatever reason. Probably because she had let her disciple get hurt despite being there herself. Anna was blaming herself, as sure as scolding sunlight.

Alucard looked over and clicked his tongue. "Anna, quit coddling her so much." He walked over to them and yanked the holy blade out of his body.

Anna lifted her head and cranked her neck to look up at him. "Are you alright?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Weird little toy of his actually hurt," he grimaced. "That sort of weapon can be a real problem, even for us." Alucard reached his hand down for Anna to grab.

She smiled softly and lifted her hand up, barely touching his glove when she noticed an ominous shadow towering behind her love. It appeared soundless and tall. Anna's eyes grew wide and she opened her mouth to scream out a warning, but not fast enough. She was stunned with great terror when she heard the sound of blades piercing through flesh, the smell of blood overwhelming her senses, and splattering on her face.

Alucard's body was pierced, pin-cushioned with multiple blades sticking out of him. Through his hazy vision, he saw Anderson standing behind him with his bayonets raised, steam coming out from the hole in his forehead...that was slowly closing up.

Anna swiftly got to her feet and pulled Seras up with her. "You cannot be...a regenerator?" she shuddered in her own skin, not knowing who was shaking more, her or Seras.

"I take an eye for an eye. God's divine power was given to us to fight inhuman demons like yourselves," Anderson proclaimed.

"You're less than inhuman. A pitiful defect, a failed science project." Alucard growled and raised his gun up. "Sending you back to your maker would be an act of mercy. It's impressive but I'm sure if I put enough bullets in your skull then you'll stay down for good. So let's cut to the chase. Start begging."

"Empty threats of a coward vampire who hides behind the weapons of man."

Seras was clinging to Anna tightly as the lady moved around until she was standing in front of her protectively. She was expecting any minute now for the narrow hallway to be that of a battlefield, and for her master and mistress to be lost to the holy man, but what calmed the rage was a voice as smooth as water, putting out the fires as quickly as they came up.

"That's enough, Paladin Alexander Anderson." It was Sir Integra's low and strong voice that stopped the impending carnage before it could even happen, making Anderson stumble a bit when he had taken a large step forwards.

Anderson turned around and saw Integra standing at the entrance, dressed in a long coat with a sword fixed to her side. "You do not have the authority to stop a true servant of God."

"I said that's enough." She had steel for eyes and could match the hardness in Anderson's voice. "Now that Enrico Stivaletti had been silenced, you're mission in our country has come to an end. Your business has been consequences."

"Well, that's funny. I thought my business was killing vampires."

"You already exceeded your authority and you will suffer the consciences of your actions today." She held up a piece of paper and flung it towards the man. "These are your new orders. They're ordering you to return to the Vatican."

Anderson narrowed his eyes even more and looked over the paper to see its authenticity. Sure enough, it had the seal of approval and everything. It was real. He had no choice now but to leave.

The holy man smirked and said nothing for a second, simply walking past Integra and towards the exit. "I look forwards to when we'll meet again, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing," he spoke her name with deep anger, it made Anna shiver one last time before he truly did leave their sight.

Anna felt faint and finally released Seras when she knew it was safe. "Well..." She walked over to the wall and grasped ahold of the holy page that was left behind. They stung her hand but she was able to rip it from the wall. With that, it was a bit more releasing and easier to breathe. "That could've been worse."

"Could've been worse?" Integra glared at Anna and the vampire immediately frowned and looked away. "Things getting worse means your death, Anna, and the Hellsing Organization doesn't have a place for useless vampires." Her eyes were so intense that it was even beginning to make Anna tremble with shame. "Now do us all a favor and get these blasted papers off the wall." She turned around and left the room, leaving behind a storm of dread that hung heavily over Anna's head.

* * *

Even though she was no longer human, the night seemed to have dragged out for an eternity. It wasn't what she idealized it to be and it left Anna feeling somewhat sluggish as she dragged herself back to her room. It was cold and dark but somewhat relaxing and secluded.

She wanted to be alone right now, alone with herself and only her thoughts. Sometimes when there are too many voices in the room, her thoughts would begin to get muddled together. She doesn't like a lot of voices going off at once. Shouting, screaming, chanting. It left a bitter feeling in her soul that shouldn't even be feeling anything in the first place.

Anna's hazy red eyes glanced over to her desk and noticed a couple of things left out. It was one of her letters she had written the night before, and the strange chip they found in Enrico Stivaletti's body. She quickly swiped the letter off the desk to make sure the seal hadn't been broken. Luckily it hasn't, so she quickly placed it inside her chest that was underneath, laying it on top of a mountain full of other white envelopes that all had the same red wax seal of a rose on it. It was her own personal seal that no one else possessed.

"What number was that again?" she muttered while closing the chest and shoving it back underneath. "Ah...79 letters, was it?"

The chip was still laying right where she left with the same initials inscribed on it. It was quite a peculiar device and very advanced for this day an age. So whoever the person was, had to be a genius. A person of gifted with knowledge beyond human comprehension.

Anna picked the chip up off the table and stared at it, eyes beginning to radiate a shinning and intimidating scarlet. They continued to burn like hellfire at the name engraved on it. "B.V..."


	6. Subject: RED Part 1

**SUBJECT: RED PART 1**

What happens to fairytales that don't get their happy ending? What happens when the character falls into shadow? Would they become unfortunate tragedies then? The princess, elegant and fair, is never saved and becomes something cruel and inhuman. Misfortune would hold her eyes and enchanting sorrow carried her words, no longer able to sing and bring the world to life with her voice. People have died around her and all she can do is smile sadly and move on with those regrets.

This is what Kim believed to be true when she first gazed upon Anna a couple of months back. She could remember her face and thought it was beautiful, a face that was fitting to be a princess of an old fable. It wasn't right though. Her red eyes were just too wild with murder and sinister dread. It dried up her throat and prevented her from screaming when this woman came from the darkness is a blur of white shadows. The smell of fresh blood was soon followed with its warmth that splashed on her face.

Kim was attacked by a vampire...only to be saved by something much worse. A walking tragedy.

* * *

_She descended fast with her white dress and blonde hair fluttered around her. In the dark, she saw the helpless woman using all her strength to try and keep the ravenous vampire off her, pushing against her shoulders. Anna pointed her fingers out in front just as she landed and drove her whole hand straight through the vampire's chest. She smashed her heart under her fingers and killed her in a solid and silent instant. No muss, no fuss, no harm._

_As the body dropped to the side, blood fell on the woman's face and tainted Anna's white dress with crimson. __Breathless and still terrified, she wasn't even sure if she was safe now with the wild look Anna had within her own ruby gaze._

* * *

Twilight had taken over and the Hellsing troops were using the time to load up supplies for a long night of dispatching ghouls. It was an ordinary mission but also the first test run for their new captain, a man who had taken Gareth's role after his death.

Anna stood near the building and watched quietly as the troops ran into the awaiting vehicle and were just about to head off, Seras including. The young child still refused to drink but it wasn't obvious to everyone else just yet. It was though to her master's keen eyes and she could tell that Seras was getting weaker. At the moment, Anna wasn't entirely worried since it was a well-known fact to her that vampires can survive on small doses of blood at a time. They can even survive for a couple of months without having a single drop. Anna did it herself when she first turned, but if it wasn't for Alucard's persistence, she was sure she would've died a long time ago.

"What's a vampire doing out here?" a new and somewhat hostile voice said to her.

Anna turned around and saw Steadler sauntering over to her, the man who had taken Gareth's position. Now, the thing was about that remark is that it sounded unfriendly and sharp. There was no mistaking that cocked smirk on his face either that made Anna a bit on edge. It was because of his arrogant persona that she didn't particularly like him all that much. Anna couldn't explain it but...he just seemed very odd to her.

"I'm only here to see Seras Victoria off. That's all." Anna kept her eyes forward and didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was bothering her. She peered her eyes up at him and spoke with a voice that was steady, calm, but still very polite. Her poise nature was merely out of habit though and not respect. "I can leave if you feel uncomfortable with me being here."

At the time, Seras had noticed Steadler talking to Anna and stopped to stare at them. She was curious but soon became bewildered when the man reached his hand out to her and lifted her chin to force her eyes on him. He was way to close to her. Close enough that it can be considered dangerous for him.

Steadler smirked but Anna was unfazed by his forceful attempt. "You may be a monster but you still probably long for a man in your bed, right?"

Anna blinked a few and gently pulled herself away from him. "I don't have a bed. I have a coffin that only fits one. And besides...why would you lay with a walking corpse?" She was still polite but her voice came off sharp and refined, all with a graceful smile too that made Steadler stumble a bit and turn soundless.

She brushed past him and walked over to Seras who looked like she was frozen in her spot. Her eyes were wide and she appeared slightly panicked for a moment. It seemed to fade though when she saw Anna's smile slowly go back to normal and not seem so sharply intimidating anymore. Initially, Seras was worried because there was no doubt in her mind that Alucard would've killed that fool for saying something like that to her. Nothing happened though so it's assumed that he wasn't in Anna's shadow at the moment of the interaction.

Seras took a long breath and let it out, closing her eyes briefly to try and calm herself down. "Miss Anna...are you alright?"

Anna reached up and patted Seras's head. "It's not the first time people had treated me harshly and it certainly won't be the last either. It matters not though so don't worry about it." She smiled but it looked a bit sad. It quickly covered it up though by obscuring Seras's eyes buy ruffling her hair. Anna's hand was cold but the loving and honest gesture was warm. It made Seras smile. "Watch out for yourself, Seras."

Her face heated up and burn red like she was laying under the sun once more. "Y-Yes, Mistress! I-I mean...Miss Anna!" She stuttered out her words by accident and it only made her blush more.

* * *

Walter's face was glued to the bright computer screen while he typed vigorously on the keys. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice red mist slowly circling the dark corner behind him. It morphed into this tall womanly figure with hair sweeping the ground and dragging behind her as she walked. Her footsteps were utterly soundless and her presence went unnoticed for a long time. She reached her long white fingers out to him and gently touched his shoulder, promptly making the elderly man jump slightly but then immediately sigh and relax.

"Don't scare me like that, Anna." Walter turned around in his chair to stare up at her. "I'm not as young as I use to be so I don't think my heart can survive a fright."

Anna's lips parted slightly and it gave her a very innocent and wide-eyed appearance. She blinked a couple of times before giving him this big smile that showed off her sharp white teeth. "What are you talking about? You would never die from something like that, Walter."

He sighed with a hint of a grin on his face. "I'm glad you came when you did though," he said and looked back to the monitor. "There's something I would like to show you."

Anna lifted her head and looked to the screen that had a video playing upon it. It was slightly blurry but it obviously showed a man standing in the middle of an empty room, nothing around but himself. There was then a loud gunshot and his body abruptly crumbled to the ground. Dead still.

She gasped sharply and covered her agape mouth with her hand. She didn't know what to say much less what she had witnessed. It stunned her silent and she just stood there for a second before finding her words once more. "But...this... Walter, what is this?" she finally managed to spew out through fragments of broken sentences.

"It's a snuff film. It's when death is filmed and usually put online for others to see. Look here though. This film had a very special guest." He enhanced the video and zoomed in, showing a very obvious coat of arms. The Hellsing family crest.

Anna sighed deeply and kneeled down eye-level with the desk. "Oh, dear..." she muttered and ran her hand over her chin. "That's going to be quite the problem. Have you already told Sir Integra about this?"

He nodded. "I have."

Anna found it hard to wrap her head around things like snuff films and can't believe that people would get a thrill out of seeing others die. Back then, death was always an unfortunate circumstance and frowned upon by others. It was something that everyone had in common and were equally afraid of. Even after all these years, she thought vampires were the only species that actually enjoyed death and found it euphoric, even longing for it after a couple of centuries of immortality. She's no stranger to that feeling and neither was Alucard.

Speaking of the devil though, a sudden dark and creaking voice echoed within the large room that drew their attention away to find the source. "There is something so human about finding delight in the deaths of one's fellow men." They saw Alucard's frame dip from the ceiling and slowly spiral down to his feet, almost as soundless as Anna was. "Walter."

"What can I do for you, Alucard?"

He grinned and held up his silver pistol. "This gun is fine for killing cheep vampires, but I want something bigger," he said with deep malice within his voice that couldn't disguise his itching excitement. It made Anna cast him a worried glance, as she already knew what he meant by that. A means to take out Anderson when he appeared again. And he most certainly will.

"Certainly, sir. I got just the thing in mind for you," Walter answered back.

"I look forward to it." He strolled past them and marched out of the room.

Anna hurried behind him with concerning words right at the tip of her tongue. "Alucard." Her voice made him stop in the middle of the hall but he didn't turn around just yet.

"You know we can't help them, Anna. We both belong to a world of shadows. Their world of choices was not meant for us to interfere with," he said.

"So you're saying we are just to sit around?" she was disheartened slightly but understood where he was coming from with that statement. It's true that it's not her place but doing nothing just made her feel worse. People's only crime is their greed and curiosity which always turns into something sinister, as what happened to her when people accused her of being a witch, but in the end...they were right about that.

Alucard looked over his shoulder and saw Anna frowning at him, something odd swimming in her red eyes that perfectly matched his. It made a smirk automatically crawl to his face. "My dear Anna, you've always had a very human-likeness, even in death. But that side has been quite prominent lately, hasn't it?" He stepped right up close to her.

Color rushed back to Anna's pale face and burned a bright scarlet like she was alive once again. Clearly, the idea just now dawned on her and she instantly looked away to begin fiddling with a lock of her blonde hair. "I'm sorry if it bothers you. It's, uh...I..." Her frown only deepened when she didn't know what to say.

Alucard's smirk slowly became more of a genuine smile, though it still had that mischievous feeling about it. "Anna. I have known you from life all the way to death. This is who you are and what I have come to cherish most about you." He reached his large white hand over her head and caressed her. Her hair was like silk and fell through his fingertips like water. "It has always been interesting and never once boring."

It was funny, Anna could tell that he was trying to be gentle but his hand was still rough enough to bobble her head back and forth. "Thank you." She grabbed his hand and held onto it. "Though I already know your feelings, It's always pleasurable to hear them from your own mouth."

At the time, Walter came out of the room and looked around before spotting Alucard and Anna still in the hallway. "Good, you're still here. Anna, it appears something had happened and we need you to do something for us."

Anna blinked and turned to him. "What is it?"

* * *

Darkness bloomed within the world with flashes of bright light coming from inside the old building that the Hellsing troops stood beside. The sound of loud gunfire had been going on for a couple of minutes now. Things took a turn for the worse though when they figured out that they were being secretly filmed by hidden cameras. It was live too and going straight to a local channel for everyone to see. The troops had their hands full so no one could spare the time to search for the mole that was concealed inside.

Fargason waited patiently and glanced over to the darkened alleyway behind him, seeing Anna's whitened figure emerge from the gloom. "Anna." he greeted with a small nod of the head. "You got here rather quickly."

They had to call Anna since they knew she would get it done swiftly without any fuss. She had always been a bit easier to work with then Alucard when it came to quick and easy jobs. Anna had actually preferred these kinds of jobs more than the drawn-out ones.

"I came as fast as I could," she answered back and stood beside him. She looked up at the building and could hear the gunfire still loud and clear, red hot and in the heat of battle. "Goodness...that is turned into quite a mess." Anna crossed her arms over her chest and took in a deep breath. "So...you need me to find the one behind the cameras?"

"If you would. We need it done fast too."

She shook her head very slowly and stared silently at the building. She scanned the multiple floors with her eyes until they began to glow ominously in the dark, shifting to various shades of scarlet that gave off an enchanting look. "I can find him in three minutes or less." Her voice even dropped a bit and turned serious. "Now, if you would excuse me."

She walked towards the building and headed inside the front entrance, melting into the darkness until she couldn't be seen anymore.

* * *

As predicted, the mole was hidden in the lowest part of the building, in the basement where Anna found him. He had all his equipment set up and it truly looked like he was down there for a long time, waiting for something to happen. That struck her as weird and definitely raised some red flags about the mission as a whole. She couldn't help but feel as if the whole thing was a setup. If you think about it, it would be to impossible for someone to sneak in during an assault and set up cameras all around the place, especially with ghouls roaming the halls and armed with weapons. No matter how much you look at it, it was like a plan to lure Hellsing out in the open. Was it though?

Was it really a trap?

Seras walked out of the building after doing her final sweep, making sure there were no more stragglers left inside. She looked over and spotted Steadler. "Captain Steadler," she called and approached him.

"What do you want?" he said mockingly towards her and didn't even turn around at first.

Seras clenched her jaw but tried her best to keep calm. "How did you know that the targets were waiting for us on the third floor? Why didn't you bother to share this information with the forward unit?" she questioned him.

Steadler scoffed and turned around to face her, stepping right up into her personal space. "You and Anna really do think you're hot shit, don't you?" His hand slid right up to her face and he actively began to provoke her. "How would you like to suck my blood? Or do you want something else?"

Seras's eyes went wide and she swallowed her anger down her throat, only to choke on it. She went blind and all she could see was bright red before her eyes, flaming hot and tasting like blood when she bit down on her tongue. She instantly tightened up her muscles in an attempt to keep her arms at her side and not lash out at him. She wanted to though. She wanted to wrap her fingers around his throat and tear his skin apart until she saw blood.

She had never wanted to kill someone this badly before.

Steadler snickered at how much Seras was struggling when he suddenly felt a hand pull against his shoulder. "The hell do you want-" he whipped his head around and froze in a dead instant. His heart turned cold from Anna's piercing vermilion gaze that burned like unending hellfire. Her face was calm, yes, but something was definitely scratching at the surface of that cool exterior. Something he knew he shouldn't poke at anymore.

Anna tilted her head to the side and gently pulled him away from her. "I don't care what you say to me or how to treat me, but...don't let me hear you say anything like that to Seras again. Do I make myself clear?" Her tall frame loomed high over his head and her voice became unfamiliar. It was stern and serious like a threat. Was she actually threatening him though? He couldn't tell by her words alone but his body sure was reacting like it was.

Steadler cleaned his throat and lifted his arms in a defensive manner. "Yes, ma'am," he rolled his eyes and walked away from the two vampires.

After a solid minute of silence, Seras spoke up but seemed very unsure of herself. "Miss Anna...doesn't this whole situation seems strange to you?"

Anna proceeded to stab her eyes into Steadler's back before finally looking away to address the question. "It's because there is..."


	7. Subject: RED Part 2

**SUBJECT: RED PART 2**

Her quill pen moved swiftly across the stark white sheet of paper, staining it red with blood draining off the tip. Her handwriting was quite lovely looking at first sight, being written in elegant cursive. It was easy to tell that she took great care into thinking up her words and making them extra small so she could fit her entire heart on the paper. After some time though, Anna's hand suddenly stopped during her smooth strokes. Her finger stiffened and began to shake uncontrollably. She grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her hand back, taking in short and ragged gasps of air to try and calm herself down.

Staring at the words she wrote haunted her. They pained her. They mocked her. She hated what she wrote. She hated the words she forced out of her heart that should've never been exposed to paper in the first place. Every day she curses herself for writing these things but she knew no other way to get her emotions out. Anna didn't know how to speak truthfully without feeling like her world was going to crumble under her, just how all living things do when she touches them for too long. Plants and people alike.

"This...is way too difficult," she muttered and pulled her hand over her eyes and sighed, falling silent as the room remained like that too. Anna pulled her hand away and looked around at all the dark corners of her room. Even peering down at her shadow. She took a breath with relief and leaned back in her chair. "Alucard's not here. That's good..." She was always thankful that he respected her boundaries and didn't slip into her shadow without her knowledge first. She loves him dearly, yes, but she still took her alone time seriously and prefers to use it wisely, such as writing her letters.

Anna folded up her letter and grabbed the hot wax from off the candle flame. She poured it over the flap and pressed it down with a rose seal, and with that, this would make 83 letters she had wrote for him. She doesn't know when she'll give him the chance to read them but that's neither here nor there. The time will come eventually, and when it does...it will truly be an interesting experience.

Anna heard what sounded like a small and hesitant knocking coming from her door, soon following by the slow creaking of it opening up. "Mistress?" Seras's small voice called into the room before sticking her head through the door.

"Seras? What is it?" Anna paused and looked over at the glass of blood. She immediately snapped her fingers and ignited it so it wouldn't bother her. "You look troubled."

Seras stepped fully into the room and gently closed it behind her. "It's about the mission we had the night before." Her voice was meek and it really sounded like she was hesitating to even talk to her.

Anna raised a brow. "Is it still bothering you?" She gestured her hand over to her coffin and signaled for her to sit down, in which the young vampire did.

"Does it not bother you either? You saw the mole and his equipment. Do you...do you think it was a setup?" Seras asked eagerly.

Anna blinked and stared at Seras's eyes that had the signs of stress building up in them. "Perhaps," she muttered while putting her hands into her laps, closing her eyes briefly to think it over. "Stranger things have happened."

"What...what do you mean?" Seras blinked.

She opened her eyes back up. "If you ask me...this setup could most likely be the work of humans. Normal, everyday people who have very little knowledge of our world."

"Why would they want to know about this?"

"Ah...that on the other hand is an easy question to answer," she explained calmly, yet her face looked serious all of a sudden. "It's greed, Seras. Stronger than love and hate. It infects the mind like a parasite and comes in many different forms. The want for love. The craving for attention. The desire for power. The need for knowledge. People don't need a strong reason to do the things that they do. They just have to be greedy enough to do it."

Seras fumbled a bit on her words since she wasn't expecting that sort of answer from her mistress, though she could understand it perfectly. "Well...if you put it that way...I guess it makes sense. Miss Anna, if you don't mind me asking...have you, uh, ever experience such strong emotions like greed before." Curiosity got the better of her and she spoke without thinking or even considering Anna's feelings.

"Yes. I have," she answered back almost immediately and didn't even hesitate, much to Seras's surprise. "And I have been made the biggest fool on the face of the planet because of it."

"What?" Seras had always been curious about Anna's old life but had been too afraid to ask each time. Right now though, was the most open Anna had ever been. "What happened?" she pushed for more.

Anna smiled fondly at her little servant's eagerness. "Did you know that I was once a herbalist? When I was human. I guess you can say I was a doctor of some sort."

Seras gasped sharply and choked on the air. "Really? I never would have thought."

"I don't look the type, do I?" A melody-like laugh escaped from her parted lips. "Ah, but practicing that sort of medicine painted quite an ugly picture on me in the age I was born in. Even though I was human, they saw me as a witch." Her smile waned a bit even though she was trying her hardest not to let it fall. "Pinning crimes on me that I never committed. They even blamed me when the plague started to spread."

"That's awful..." Sears felt her body grow colder than usual. She could even see the hurt behind Anna's scarlet gaze when she spoke

"People become awful when they get scared. It's not entirely their fault." She dropped her head and wrapped her fingers up in a ball. "Simply because they don't understand me. Funny enough, they still came for my help and I still gave it to them." Her words were just as weak as her fading smile.

"After everything they had done to you?" Seras was baffled at why Anna would go so far for people who gave back so little.

"Of course. I devoted everything to help people, no matter the reputation I was stained with. I indulged myself in my studies and did everything possible to grasp ahold of knowledge. And in the end, I discovered some...rather dark stuff." Anna cleared her throat and bit down on her lips.

"What do you mean by dark?" Seras blinked and noticed a slight shift in her behavior.

"Seras. Have you noticed that I don't have any plants in my room?"Anna looked uncomfortable and gazed around the quite empty room that had no other earthy possessions, aside from her letters and coffin. It was quite gloomy but also unnerving.

"Well...now that you mention it." Seras looked around before becoming worried all of a sudden. She felt like her head was about to expose with all this cryptic information. "Did you perhaps...stop being a doctor?"

Anna locked her eyes with Seras and didn't even blink when she spoke. "I didn't stop, Seras. I just had no choice anymore to continue," she said, her voice dangerously low and solemn.

Seras felt like she couldn't breathe with Anna's paralyzing eyes practically turning her to stone. She could definitely see something inside them though. Something old and filled with so much regret, it was enough to drown in. In an instant, she realized that Anna had pretty much told her nothing about her life. No details or anything. It was like she was purposely holding back information. Seras wanted to ask more but was too nervous to even speak anymore, afraid of what she might find out.

"Anyways. Don't you think it's about time for us to head back to that building?" Anna said and got up from her seat, her smile and present voice returning almost as if nothing happened.

"Wait, wait. Miss Anna, do you want to go with me?" Seras shot up quickly and stared baffled, forgetting about the intense conversation they had only moments ago.

"Of course. It sounds interesting and it gives me something to do. Besides, I wanna meet the people behind this."

"That's alright, but..." Seras said nervously and looked Anna up and down, biting on her tongue to stop herself from saying anything disrespectful.

"Is there something wrong?" Anna noticed her acting strange.

"No, no. It's just...this is an undercover mission of some sort and you...kinda stick out. Not to be rude," she said shyly and looked away.

Anna seemed perplexed by what she meant by that and looked down at her appearance, grabbing locks of her bright blonde hair and studying it. Her lips curled up and she sighed with a chuckle buried beneath. Her dress began to weep with what looked to be white shadows that fell to the ground around her. She lifted her hands up and leaned her head back, running her fingers through her hair that gradually started to darken as her fingers passed through. It had become the shade of night and wasn't nearly as long as it was when blonde, while her dress had morphed into a fluffy white shirt that was tucked in a long blue skirt. She pulled her hands away from her newly colored hair and held these unfamiliar sunglasses in them now. Dark-tinted ones that looked similar to Alucard's.

"Is this alright?" Anna said with a wide smile on her face, just as giddy as a child that was about to get into mischief. She noticed that Seras had become quiet though and completely drained of color. "Is it not good?"

* * *

The building had a different atmosphere during the day but the smell of mold and dried up blood hadn't lessened since then. The rooms were dark and decrepit and every floorboard in the place seemed to squeak and groan under Anna and Seras's feet while wandering through the halls on the third floor. Steadler cleared this level himself but never once told anyone prior that there were ghouls upstairs. How he knew about that definitely raised some suspicion with Seras.

Anna pushed open the half-broken off door and walked into a room with a giant hole in the floor. The windows were boarded up with old pieces of plywood and it looks like they been there for a while. Aside from that, there was also a single bed pushed up against the wall.

"Steadler was in here?" she asked and looked back at Seras.

She shook her head. "Yes, ma'am. He never told anyone either. If I didn't know any better...than I would believe he knew they were here to begin with."

"You may be right about that," Anna mumbled and walked around the large hole and peered down, noticing that it dropped into the second floor. Her eyes narrowed and she glanced off to the right towards the bed and saw something odd underneath it. It looked like a camera that faced her direction. "Seras, under the bed." She raised her hand and pointed.

"What?" She walked over to the bed and got a better look. It was clear to her that the camera was deliberately placed there, taped to the bottom of the mattress to stay out of sight from wandering eyes. No one would have noticed it unless they were at eye level with the bed like Anna was.

The floor creaked behind them and the girls swiftly turned around and spotted two unknown men standing in the doorway. They were dressed sharply in suits and it was obvious to them that they were there on official business.

Anna quickly gestured Seras to get up while she smiled politely at the two, taking her glasses off as well. "Afternoon," she said in her usual gentle voice that was as smooth as water over rocks.

"So the Hellsing Organization has an investigations division now," one of the men said while cocking a brow at Anna's odd voice.

Anna's smile morphed down into a smirk. "It seems that we're at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Look miss, your lot handles infiltration while we handle investigation. Now lets all just stick to what we're good at." he offered with an uneasy smirk that didn't collide well with Anna's menacing one.

Seras pointed to the bed. "You know, there's a hidden camera in here, so the informant must've already known about the vampire."

"Young miss, it's also our job to evaluate any evidence."

"You've got to be joking." Seras was about to protest until Anna held her hand up as a signal to stop.

"It appears that we overstepped our boundaries. We will leave if you wish it." Her smile didn't waver and it wasn't entirely certain if it was real or not. Her voice was too sickly sweet to tell them otherwise.

The man narrowed his eyes and stared right into Anna's scarlet gaze that spoke a thousand words and had lived a thousand lives. Despite her somewhat normal appearance at the moment, he could tell just by those eyes alone that she was basically a titan in a small room. "Yes. I would highly appreciate it," he spoke cautiously

"We shall take our leave then. Have a pleasant day." Anna bowed her head and hurried Seras out of the room by her shoulder.

The girls wandered back outside just when the sun was beginning to set, immersing the emptying streets with gold and orange lights. Anna stopped briefly on the last steps and look up towards the building. Suspicion was beginning to surge up in her eyes but she quickly covered them up with her glasses.

"Miss Anna, why did we just leave like that? Weren't we on to something?" Seras was frantic but Anna was calm, even smiling.

"I believe we have all the answers we need. Don't you think?"

* * *

Steadler's eyes were glazed at the TV screen mounted on the wall. He didn't even take so much as a sip from his drink and remained motionless since stepping into the nearly empty bar. Seras felt a bit stumped on what to do next while Anna stayed quiet, silently watching him through the tinted lens of her glasses.

The bartender came up to the girls and laid his hand against the table, making Seras stumble out an order since they were just sitting there doing nothing. "Ah, uh..we'll just have some tomato juice, please." she laughed awkwardly until he walked away. "Now what are we support to do?" she grumbled under her breath.

Anna snickered a bit and looked away from Steadler. She reached her hand out and took a glass of tomato juice that was given to her and Seras. "Why did you order tomato juice?" she asked while swirling it with a straw.

"I don't know. It was a bloody stupid drink to order." Seras sighed and sucked the drink down.

Anna was about to do the same when she heard the front door open. A woman walked in and it immediately grabbed her attention when she went over to Steadler and began talking to him in hushed tones. The girls can't tell what they were talking about since their tone was so low, but it was clear that they were trying to be inconspicuous and not draw attention to themselves.

Anna cocked a brow and watched the woman, having an awful feeling rise up in her stomach when she recognized her. It was the same girl that was attacked by a vampire a couple of months back, shortly after Seras joined Hellsing. It was easy for Anna to remember her face since the woman looked so frightened at the time, but it wasn't about the attack though. Her terrified eyes were clearly meant for her, gawking at Anna like she was the monster who attacked her and not the other vampire she had put down.

Anna suddenly became alert when Steadler got up and left the bar with the woman. "Something's happening. Come on," she said urgently to Seras and rushed up from her seat to follow.

"What? Miss Anna." Seras got up but paused. She swiftly turned back to the bartender. "Excuse me. How much was the juice?"

* * *

The red film light was on and the lights in the room were dimmed to obscure faces and the environment. A vampire was in front of the camera with a dazed and confused human beside him, too drunk or high to even realize that he was the prey and soon to be a victim of this story.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" he said with a smile never wavering from his face, complete in blissful ignorance. "How long am I to sit here?" The smile only fell when the vampire behind him grabbed his head and pulled it back uncomfortably to expose his neck. "The fuck are you doing? I don't like that."

The bloodshed was moments away from covering the camera lens when the red light suddenly cut out and the screen went pitch black. The grueling vampire sucked in a deep breath and snapped his head up, looking around the empty room but not seeing anything. He followed the icy chill though and cranked his neck to the dark ceiling, seeing sharp teeth stretched wide into and excited smile. Alucard's body bled through the darkness and dropped down into the room with them.

"What exactly is so amusing about exposing your filthy face to the world?" Alucard's said, his grin spreading wide like a Cheshire cat.

"Who the fuck are you?" the vampire hissed his venom out through his teeth. He was more like a slimy snake than a terrifying vampire.

"Does having an audience for your sins make you feel like your special? Does it make you proud?" His voice didn't have the playful edge to it anymore, instead, it was riddled with a loathing that rose up in his eyes.

The drunk man was sat confused about what was going on and spoke up. "Ah? Are you lads gonna fight? Cause if you are, I'll just be go-" He didn't even finish his sentence when the vampire tossed him aside a little too hard, causing him to smack his head against the wall and crack it open like an egg.

Alucard sighed disappointingly. "Now look what you did. You went and killed your co-star," he mocked.

"Fuckng bastard." The vampire reached behind his back and pulled a gun out. "You talk too much."

"I can only pity such a vampire. A titan reduced to a puppet just to give humans a good show." He reached inside his coat and pulled out his own weapon that was much more intimidating to the eyes. "Then again...so am I." He pulled the trigger and blasted a hole right through the vampire's head and shattered the one-way glass behind him, exposing Steadler and Kim on the other end.

"I...we're just observing," Kim stuttered out, turning ghastly pale at the sight of the man.

Steadler pulled out a pistol to defend himself when he realized who he was up against. "It's one of the Hellsing Organization's vampires." He could easily recognize Alucard's tall and menacing figure that was really starting to resemble a demon.

Alucard scoffed. "Why did you need to witness this? I will never understand humans." He was about to pull the trigger until something shifted in his eyes. For a moment, he briefly appeared shocked before chuckling to himself and lowering the gun, much to everyone's bafflement. "Now this is a pleasant surprise."

"I'm sure it is," Anna's voice of a thousand melodies spoke up from the darkness directly behind Steadler and Kim. It instantly made them freeze.

Alucard glanced off towards the stairwell and saw Seras coming out with her pistol raised and ready. He smirked and looked back at Anna. "So this is what you've been doing all day? Were you playing undercover cop with your little servant?"

The beautiful shade of twilight faded from her hair and her clothes morphed back into the long white dress they all knew and loved. "I guess you can say I did." She reached her hands back and flipped her long blonde hair to shake out the lingering drops of darkness until she was fully back to the way she was.

Steadler snickered awkwardly and dropped his gun, now realizing that he wasn't going to get out of this one with all three of Hellsing's vampires here. Kim though on the other hand looked either petrified or bewildered. She didn't move, much less an inch and kept her eyes on Anna. She stared at the woman who had obsessively haunted her dreams since the day she first laid eyes on her. Not a thing had changed, except that Anna appeared calmer and less ferocious this time.

"It's...it's you..." Kim stuttered. "You're that woman. That vampire from...back then." She sucked in a deep breath when Anna turned her full attention to her and smiled for some reason. Kim instantly lost the ability to speak after that and slumped down.

"Victoria. Anna. ." Fargason echoed from the stairwell before walking out, Integra trailing behind him with hot steel in her eyes. "We'll take care of things from here. You two done well." He went and began to handcuff Steadler.

"Don't you ever get sick of it?" The traitor grinned through his teeth. "You give your life for this country but this organization hides and you get treated like you don't even exist."

"I think I seriously miss judged your character, Steadler." Fargason took him away and left Kim's fate in Integra's hands.

"I just...I just can't believe what I've seen," Kim sputtered out to Integra, trying desperately to hide her fear that came from being so close to Anna. "I have a journalist obligation to show this to the world."

Lady Hellsing's face resembled cold stone and lacked emotion. "So you feel no guilt for watching?"

"Damned right! I wasn't doing the videotaping. It was that pathetic computer freak."

Haunting silence claimed the room and every sound that was once inside. Kim's heart thumped erratically and the blood flow was thick and heavy with anxiety. Alucard's voice was the only thing that could break the silence, deep and smooth like a newly sharpened knife.

"What do we do with her?"

"She should be brought to the London police. From there, she'd go to trial." Integra crossed her arms over her chest before narrowing her eyes. "But I don't think man's law is a suitable punishment for her crimes."

Alucard suddenly appeared behind the startled woman and towered over her. "If she's beyond man's judgment. Beyond law. I guess that means it's up to me." He grabbed Kim's shoulder and forced her to turn around and face him.

Anna's face broke out with horror and she stepped forward quickly. "Wait a moment," she said frantically enough to caused everyone to turn around. Anna was more than just a little pale. She looked sick with worry. "Sir Integra, I hate to speak up since it's not my place, but I can't help but feel slightly guilty myself. I believe her involvement originally came from an unhealthy obsession with me. From the time I saved her from a vampire." She couldn't keep her feelings inside anymore and just kept on talking. "Could I simply just erase that part of her memory and anything involving vampires? Please," she pleaded.

Integra was steadfast and didn't even show Anna the slightest bit of mercy in her actions. "This doesn't concern you. You really need to understand your place." Her voice was just as dripping cold as a vampire. It was hard to imagine at that moment who was the real monster. Anna or Integra.

"But...Integra..." Anna's elegant face contorted and she looked completely shocked at what she just heard. She immediately snapped her head over to Alucard as he inched closer to this human with every intent of draining her dry. Every muscle in her body stiffened and she watched for as long as she could, soundless and terrified until she couldn't stand it anymore. "Alucard, stop!" she practically screamed with this utterly shrill cry. It was truly the only voice in the world that could make him stop and not think a second time. Alucard was physically pushed aside by Anna as she rushed to Kim who was practically in tears and scared. She grabbed the woman by her face and forced her to look into her eyes. "Don't think. Don't speak. Focus only on my eyes and voice." Anna's eyes shimmered between red and pink and reflected in Kim's. The tears ceased to fall and the woman's eyes slowly started to sink before she slumped down and passed out in Anna's arms.

After a moment, Anna finally was able to stop shaking and sat down on the floor. She held the human woman in her arms like she was the most precious thing in the world, not daring to look up and meet Integra's eyes. God only knows the look she was being given right now. Anna didn't regret it though.

* * *

On some days, the words just seem to fall out of her and write themselves. Others though, she struggled to bleed. Anna sat silently at her desk with her mind within a chaotic storm of emotions that struck every nerve in her body. She was afraid that these electric currents were going to end up jump-starting her heart once again. The room also had a cold current running through it that made her peak her head up and look around. She couldn't initially spot anything behind her but Anna knew that she wasn't alone.

"What is it...Alucard? I know you're there," she called gently into the cold room, turning around fully in her chair and watching as the dark corner to her left bubbled up from the ground and formed into Alucard's red and black frame. He wasn't wearing his wide-brimmed hat, nor his glasses, so Anna could easily see what he was thinking without him even saying anything yet.

"You made quite a spectacle of yourself today. Pushing Integra into a corner and forcing her to let that human go," he said deeply, his voice like an ominous rumble within her stormy heart. It sent electric shocks down her spine that made her arch her back.

"I've noticed," Anna's tone dropped and she groaned. "Tell me, is she still mad?"

"Well...she's saying your name right now with great disdain, so I suggest making yourself scarce from her for the time being." He strolled across the room before stopping in front of her coffin to look at it.

"I was planning on that." Anna's expression fell but she wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting. Her lips trembled with unease and she raised her eyes, locking them with his. "What...what about you? What do you think?" she asked hesitantly.

Alucard said nothing at first and just stared at her like she just asked the most ridiculous question he had ever heard. "Why would I concern myself with trivial human matters?"

Anna laughed weakly because that sounded like something he would say, so she knew he wasn't lying about it. "Because I was the one who made it trivial?"

"Hmm," he grumbled and sat down on the edge of her dusky red coffin that looked as if it was made of precious marble. He traced his white gloves across the thorny rose vines that were etched around her promised words on the front. He looked back up and noticed a glass of blood at her desk with an unused quill pen beside a wordless sheet of paper. "Anna...what do you write in those letters?"

He always knew Anna to be this way but not during the times she was human. He could specifically remember the moment she started to write those letters though. It was after those...complicated times he had been away from her. Those were dark days for both of them and he had never seen Anna act the way she did back then. The times she was still struggling with being a newborn vampire. Neither of them speak about those days anymore because the pain still felt fresh, as well as Anna's regret. It was taboo that both of them wish to forget.

Alucard noticed that her completion becoming pale all of a sudden with what looked to be anxiety waving across her eyes. He knew right at that moment that he had to stop and not ask a second time. "You don't have to tell me if it makes you so uncomfortable. I just noticed that you seem to be doing it a lot more frequently as of late." He tried to assure her by pretending to brush it off. Anna knew better though and was aware of his deadly curiosity that had gotten stronger over the years. He wanted to read them. He would kill to read them. The only thing that was stopping him though was his lover's words.

Anna grumbled under her breath and looked back at the glass of blood. She snapped her fingers and ignited the liquid since she lost the motivation to write. "Believe it or not, it's more so like therapy for me," she spoke up much to Alucard's astonishment.

"Don't be ridiculous. You confide in writing?" He never knew that and didn't once take that into consideration. It only made him want to read them more. Tear off the envelope and indulge himself in what she could've possibly written. He always thought he understood her heart and soul, yet she surprises him every day to the point of Anna feeling like a stranger to him. Or perhaps a beautiful ghost. She would probably prefer being a ghost instead of a bloodthirsty vampire though

"I speak but at the same time... I feel like I don't," Anna said wistfully. "I never had been good at talking about my feelings. Not even when I was human."

Alucard narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Then why are they addressed to me?"

"Because they are for you, and one day, you will get the chance to read them." That odd sound of regret faded from her voice as a smile grew instead. She offered her hand out and he took it, holding her tightly as she began to tremble. "I promise."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I wanna quickly apologize for any mistakes I might've made. I was in a mad freaking rush to get this chapter out before the end of the day. There are still things I wanna kinda rewrite but it's really not that much of a deal. I can easily do it later. **

**Man, things are really starting to get spicy. Spaking up against Integra and Alucard's growing concern for Anna too. Not to mention they had a taboo past? That's gonna be an interesting flashback. Anyways, the next few chapters are really gonna be game changers and I'm really excited to show them. **


	8. Red Impostors

**RED IMPOSTORS**

Seras sat at the table inside her soundless room and stared with discouraging eyes at the bag of blood in front of her. It laid inside a bucket of ice and was colored in a deep red, delicious and thick, but went untouched by her hands. During the span of a minute, she thought things over a million times, presuming that this would have to be the day she gave up on her humanity. Give in to the temptation that had been resting in the back of her mind for over a month now. Yet...she continues to hesitate. Her thoughts had become scrambled and the image of having to drink blood both excited and disgusted her at the same time

She grumbled under her breath and finally pulled the bag of blood out from the ice pool. She didn't rip it open though. Instead, she rushed out of her seat and made a quick jog over to the bathroom. Only then did she tear it open but poured all the blood into the toilet. Just the overwhelming aroma of iron made her body twitch uncontrollably with a growing appetite. Seras quickly acted against these desires though and flushed every last drop of blood down the drain until nothing was left, not even the smell.

Seras sat down on the floor in front of the toilet and tried to calm her stuttering nerves, surpassing the urge to drink until she felt it was alright to move again. "I can't keep doing this..." she muttered when there was a sudden sensation of cold fingers on the back of her neck. Seras gasped sharply and turned around in a blink of an eye, seeing these matching pairs of red eyes staring back at her. "Mistress? I mean...Miss Anna?" she choked out.

Anna had crouched down soundlessly behind her with her arms resting on her knees, staring with these eyes that didn't even look a little bit surprised to find Seras doing this sort of thing. "Ah, looks like you're still not drinking," she said while tilting her head curiously to the side. "Indeed...you are stubborn."

Seras turned her head away and shamefully looked at the ground to avoid eye contact. She wasn't staring at the floor for long though until Anna moved her head back up to look at her again. Being this close, Seras could see over a million shades of red swimming around in Anna's eyes, studying her and searching for something that could never be spoken with words.

Anna smiled weakly and released Seras's face. "When I first turned...I lasted for over six months without having a single drop of blood," she said as her smile faded, little by little until it was nothing but a frown. "I had never seen Alucard so frustrated with me before that time. I nearly worried him to death."

Seras sucked in a deep breath and tightened her jaw to stop any kind of quivering. "I'm sorry, Miss Anna. I don't want to make you worry but...it's just..."

"A hard pill to swallow, I know," she said softly before pulling Seras to her feet. "Come with me. Maybe I can help."

Anna dragged the studdering Seras out of her room and up the stairs through the Hellsing Manor. They weren't walking through the halls for long though until she leads them into a darkened room that turned out to be an empty kitchen once the lights were turned on.

"Would you be a dear and start boiling a kettle of water for me?" Anna said while smiling gently at her, gesturing her long fingers towards the stove.

"Eh? Ah, sure." Seras pulled a kettle out from one of the cabinets beside her and quickly filled it up with water to boil.

Anna rummaged through the cabinets and began to pull out small bottles, one after another until three were in her hand. They did have labels on them but Anna worked way too quickly for Seras to read them. She poured the contents into an old mortar and pestle bowl before manually grinding everything together using a swirling motion.

Seras blinked a couple of times before suddenly realizing what Anna was doing. It actually made her feel a bit excited to see her in action. "Oh, I remember now. You did say you were once a herbalist."

"That's right. I may be a bit out of practice but this was something I learned because of my stubbornness," she said and continued to grind away until it looked more like a paste than powder. "It won't be long until your body starts feeling the strain from not taking in any blood."

Seras peaked around Anna's shoulders to see what she was doing. "What are you putting in it?"

"Calendula, ginger, ginseng. You know, things to help with inflammation, nausea, and fatigue.

"And It works?" She couldn't imagine things like that would work on a vampire, but since it was Anna who said it, Seras felt like she had to believe it.

"It worked on me for a time." She lifted her head when the kettle began to make a sharp whistling noise that signaled it was ready. She gestured Seras to turn the heat down while she grabbed a cup. Seras handed over the hot kettle for her and she poured the water inside, soon mixing it in with the pale yellow paste. "Be mindful, Seras. This is not a permanent solution. It will only buy you some time to get used to this life. You will eventually have to drink." she gave a firm warning before handing over the strange concoction.

Seras took in a deep breath and got a strong scent of ginger steaming off of it, with only a hint of the other things mixed together. She swallowed hard and leaned her head back, dunking half the drink down her throat so she wouldn't have to taste it.

"You are far too soft on her, Anna," Alucard's voice spoke up from the darkened doorway.

Both the girls turned their heads at the same time and saw Alucard leaning against the wooden door frame, staring at Anna with cocked eyebrows. He was unreadable though because of his tinted sunglasses that rested against his nose, half his face obscured by his hat.

"There's nothing wrong with showing a little kindness, Alucard," Anna said while putting everything away. "I'm just giving her a little more time to get used to her new life." She stiffened a little when she heard him approach, taking his hand and gliding it from her neck all the way to her cheek so she could meet his eyes.

"That's called being soft." He saw her face slowly scrunch up into a childish pout. She was clearly upset with him but that face she made wasn't at all threatening. "Now that's not a nice face."

"You don't deserve a nice face if you're going to be mean to her." Anna crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

Alucard blinked a few times and just stared at her. He couldn't take it anymore though and finally broke down and began to snicker. His snickering then turned into a full-body laugh that made his chest squeezed with pain. Anna stomped her foot into the ground and lightly smacked his back with her dainty hand that didn't even hurt. It only made him laugh more.

"Don't laugh!" Anna cried with a face reddened with embarrassment.

Seras only watched on silently while taking small sips of her drink at a time. A knock soon same from the doorway through and everyone turned their heads, seeing Walter standing there with a polite smile on his face.

"Ah, I was looking for you, Alucard," he said while walking inside, carrying a case in his hand. "Your order has been complete." He placed it down on the table and popped open the lid, revealing a charcoal colored gun with the label '_Hellsing_' printed on the front.

Alucard walked up to it and grinned upon seeing his new toy. "Nice."

"Oh, dear..." Anna muttered to herself and sighed deeply. She pressed her hand to the side of her face and dropped her shoulders in worry. "So this is what you've been working on this whole time, Walter," she said.

"Indeed," he nodded. "The 13mm Jackal. A semi-automatic, anti-freak weapon. 390 millimeters long, weighing 16 kilograms and has a 6 round magazine. Too much gun for any human to handle."

Seras could only look at it with big and curious eyes. "Oh, wow..."

"Instead of the modified rounds for the Casull, we've custom-made an explosive armor-piercing, especially for this gun."

Alucard picked up the gun and began his inspection to make sure it was up to his standards. "Casing?"

"Pure silver."

"Aminition?"

"NNA 9 marvel cartridges."

"Explosive or mercury charge."

"Mercury, and of course, they're already blessed."

Alucard pointed it out in front of him and looked down the barrel towards the floor, his grin widening with every second passing by. Oh, he can only imagine the excitement he was going to feel once he ran into Anderson again. "It's perfect, Walter."

Walter smiled and bowed his head. "I'm glad you're satisfied."

Alucard grabbed the gun by the barrel and held it out to Anna, gesturing for her to take it and try it out. She looked momentarily taken back at first but grabbed it in the end, holding it awkwardly with both hands since she wasn't sure how someone was supposed to hold it.

It was a bit of a funny spectacle to see. Nither Alucard, Seras, or Walter had ever seen Anna carry such a wicked looking weapon before and just the motion of seeing them together definitely looked off.

Anna never did fancy using any kind of weapon when performing her duty as a vampire killer. Using something like a gun felt way too disjointed for her liking, and though she felt a bit of disdain towards her natural abilities as a vampire, Anna won't deny that using them felt more personal when dispatching enemies.

Anna frowned deeply and almost looked upset. "I...I'm sorry. I just don't think these kinds of things suit me," she said apologetically.

Of course, Alucard already knew that but still wanted to see what it would look like. "I agree," he said while chucking and took the Jackel back.

Anna dusted off her hands before crossing them over her chest. "Do you think this can kill Father Anderson?" she asked, curious to think if it was possible.

"Oh, I think so." Alucard had no doubt in his words and was itching to try it out.

Walter walked back over towards the door. "Miss Victoria. Very good. I have a new weapon for you too," he said while reaching for something behind the doorframe. He took in a deep breath and grabbed the handle of a long case and brought it out, struggling just to take a single step since it was so heavy.

Anna quickly intervened and grabbed the case from him. "Please don't hurt yourself, Water," she said walked with easy over to the table and sat it down gently, popping open the locks and lifting the lid. Her face immediately paled and she stepped back beside Seras. A shocked looked adorned both of their faces that matched perfectly.

"The 30mm, anti-freak Harkonnen." Walter brought out a ridiculously long gun and set it down beside him, displaying the hight that way surpasses his own. "It has two types of ammunition. Depleted uranium shells. The other, explosive armor-piercing incendiary rounds."

Anna breathed in deeply and clasped her hands together, speaking as gently as she could. "Walter."

"Yes?"

"You made her cannon." Anna bit down on her lips and walked over to the Harkonnen to tap her knuckles against it. "You made her something...that is capable of destroying a tank."

Alucard chuckled and patted Anna's head to ruffle her hair. "It suits her, doesn't it?" He kept at it until she glared, stepping away from him to fix her hair.

"Do you really think so?" Sera smiled cheerfully. "I don't know if I would look good carrying that thing around. I mean, the length is a serious issue but even that's beside the point." She paused for a moment and her smile fell. "Wait a minute...isn't depleted-uranium illegal?"

"My thoughts exactly," Anna said before frowning to herself. Her attention was drawn away though and she looked up at the ceiling, just staring at it for a couple of seconds before looked back to Walter. "Walter, I've been meaning to ask you. This is a bit off-topic but isn't the members of the Round Table supposed to arrive today?"

He nodded. "You're correct. Sir Integra is looking to get permission to investigate the chip that was found recently."

"I do hope that is the case. The chip worries me since they're able to create artificial vampires faster than real ones can."

"We don't yet know the science behind it, which is why Sir Integra is in a bit of a rush. She fears that if something like that still occurs...things could get dangerous," he said eerily.

"What about the initials?" Anna asked but Walter shook his head.

"Unfortunately, we have yet to discover the full name, much less who it belongs too," Walter said which caused Anna's frown to deepen.

It worries her greatly, not knowing who this chip belongs to and how it's being operated. Neither her nor Alucard have look into it since Integra wasn't given permission too. The only thing they knew for sure is that something was a very, very off about it. Not in the way that it turns normal people into cheap vampires, but...just strange and dark. Like there was something else more to it instead of the power of science.

Anna paled suddenly and begin to feel the pit of her stomach start to drop and turn. Her nose crinkled up and she groaned with disgust before turning her head towards the ceiling again. Anna tilted her head curiously to the side before covering her nose. "Walter... was someone else suppose to show up today for the meeting?"

The sudden sharpness in Anna's voice caused Alucard to become a bit alarmed. He looked up at the ceiling as well before blinking very slowly. "Oh...I get it now," he said with a dark realization.

Walter cocked a brow. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Is something wrong, Miss Anna?" Seras asked since she was beginning to tell that something was off.

Anna kept her eyes sternly at the ceiling for another agonizing minute of silence before breathing in deeply. "I smell blood."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Happy Halloween!**

**I want to apologize if you think this chapter is not up to par with my previous ones. I unfortunately have been sick this whole week (Not COVID!) and haven't had motivation to write, much less edit.**

**My other excuse is that I have no Internet right now, so I can't edit anything properly. I'm having to do most of it on my phone, which sucks!**

**I want to thank you all though for sticking with me. You have no idea how much it means to me to have people read my story and enjoy it.**

**I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I promise I will edit this chapter properly once my Internet is back!**


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